ICE 2001 Final Report

SUBREGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA (ECA/SRDC-SA)

Report on the work of SRDC-SA (Agenda item 4)

22. The meeting considered the "Report on the Work of SRDC-SA for the period 14 April, 2000 to 2 April, 2001" (ECA/SRDC/SA/ICE/2001/4), highlighting activities to be undertaken for the remainder of 2001.

23. As a follow-up of the recommendations of the Sixth ICE meeting, the following status of implementation was presented:

	»	The final report on Economic and Social Conditions in Southern Africa, 1998-1999 be finalized without the section on crime, which was seen as being not objective; and a workshop of relevant national experts be convened to examine it. Accordingly, the Secretariat revised and published the Report on Economic and Social Conditions in Southern Africa: 1998-1999, excluding the section on crime. It also revised the section on crime but could not release the report for public information, since the Centre was unable to organize the workshop of experts due to lack of funds.
	»	The 2002-2003 work programme of SRDC-SA included the development of ICT in the countries of the sub-region. Furthermore, ECA was already providing support to some countries in their National Information and Communications Infrastructure (NICI) development (Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia).
	»	Furthermore, the ICE had proposed that the theme for the Seventh Meeting of ICE be "Enhancing and Strengthening Information Infrastructure and process for Accelerated Development". Upon consultation with the Development Information Systems Division of ECA, the Secretariat proposed that ICT form the basis for a special event to be organized together with the next meeting of ICE (2003).
	»	ECA was requested to commission a study on modalities to assist member States to effectively strengthen their information systems. Upon detailed consideration of the recommendation, ECA deemed that this need was already covered within the existing framework of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI).

24. On activities carried out during the reporting period, over fifty percent of the work months and operational funds were allocated to provide technical assistance to RECs and advisory services to member States, a measure consistent with the operational role assigned to the Centre in the implementation of ECA programmes.

25. The Centre participated in various coordinating and consultative meetings and joint programming with COMESA and SADC in the development of transport. The Centre also participated in various meetings of the policy organs of COMESA and provided technical assistance to COMESA in other areas, in particular, its ongoing restructuring exercise.

26. The Centre, in collaboration with a Regional Adviser from the Economic and Social Policy Division (ESPD) at ECA Headquarters, prepared a draft report, which formed the basis for the SADC Annual Report, 2000. Furthermore, at the request of the Committee of SADC Ministers responsible for Mining and Minerals Development, the Centre also assisted the SADC Mining Coordination Unit in the preparation of a study on Small Scale Mining Development in Southern Africa. The SADC Mining and Marketing subcommittee meeting accepted the recommendations of the report and recommended that the Study be extended to cover the remaining SADC member States in order to get a full picture of the situation.

27. The experts in the Centre also participated in workshops and meetings of various SADC sector organs including the SADC Workshop on the Formation of a Regional Association for National Road Agencies, SADC Regional Seminar on Labour Migration in Southern Africa, and the SADC Employment and Labour Sector Annual Meeting of Ministers and Social Partners.

28. Advisory services and technical assistance were provided to: Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia on different stages of ICT policy development; and Zambia on launching of the preparation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PSRP), population and sustainable development, developmental challenges for Zambia's and Japan's Cooperation programme in the new millennium, as well as National Gender Policy formulation.

29. With regard to facilitation and networking, an Ad-hoc Experts Group Meeting on Gender Networking to control HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa was organized by the Centre. The major outcome of the meeting is an action plan for engendering the SADC HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework.

30. The Centre prepared and disseminated various reports, the major ones of which are: Report on Food Security, Population and Environment; Development Bulletin Issues No. 7 and 8; Report on Economic and Social Conditions in Southern Africa, 2000; Gender Networking to Control HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa; Report of the Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting to Control HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa; A study on the Development of Small Scale Mining in Southern Africa; and A review of the Road Safety Situation in Africa: Which Way Forward.

31. Regarding facilitating integration activities of the UN system, the Centre participated in the regular activities of the UN Country Team in Zambia which constituted Heads of Agency meetings, preparation of the CCA for Zambia, meetings of the Expanded Theme Group on HIV/AIDS, launch of the 2000 UNDP Global Human Development Report, Launch of UNICEF 2001 State of the World's Children Report, and the meeting of the UN Agencies with Swedish MPs on the work of the UN on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.

32. Furthermore, some of the Divisions from ECA Headquarters participated in regional advisory missions to Southern Africa such as gender issues; the upgrading of the ASYCUDA in the COMESA region; simplification, harmonization and standardization of Customs documents and transit procedures for SADC; macro-economic management; preparation of the SADC Annual Report 1999/2000; water resources development and management; environment and natural resources accounting and use of the PEDA Model for Eastern and Southern African countries.

33. The following workshops and seminars are planned for 2001: (a) Special Event: Roundtable on Public Sector/Private Sector/Civil Society Partnership, which would take place from 5 to 6 April, 2001 after the ICE meeting; (b) Ad hoc Expert Group Meeting on Harmonization of National Mechanisms for Regional Integration in Southern Africa; (c) Workshop on Engendering the SADC HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework and Programme; (d) Subregional Training Workshop on the Management of interactions between Population, Agriculture and Environment (PEDA Model); and (e) Workshop on Natural Resources Accounting. The planned workshops (c), (d) and (e) would be implemented subject to the availability of extra-budgetary resources.

34. The Centre also backstopped the UNECA/GTZ Pilot Project in Zambia on Promoting Informal Sector for Development in Africa to its final conclusion.

35. As part of strengthening ECA's outreach, the Centre disseminated information on ECA gender to relevant development partners. An expert of the Centre lectured on Africa's Diplomacy in the Age of Economic Renaissance to the Zambia Institute for Diplomacy and International Studies (ZIDIS).

36. On administrative issues, the number of professional staff deployed at the Centre was until recently six out of an establishment of ten. The sub-programme was thus implemented by five full time professional staff members and the Director. Furthermore, the skills mix still did not adequately cover all the priority areas of the subregion, lacking experts in the critical areas of trade, minerals, energy and natural resources management.

37. The contractual status of support staff on General Temporary Assistance Fund (GTAF) has been upgraded in all cases to short term appointments while management continues to explore ways of allocating more regular posts for support staff.

38. The need to increase the financial resource base was very pivotal to the effective implementation of the programme. In this regard, the ICE was requested to solicit support to the forthcoming UNTFAD Pledging Conference during the meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers in Algeria, 2 to 10 May 2001.

39. The meeting expressed concern on the postponement of two workshops due to lack of financial resources, namely on nexus issues, and natural resources accounting. In this regard it stressed the need for member States to support ECA activities for mobilization of the requisite financial resources. The meeting then took note of the report.

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