I. Programme by Category of Activities

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6. The activities may be categorized into four as follows:

Providing technical support to the regional economic communities (RECs) and member States in policy reforms and institutional building for implementing priority community programmes;

Providing a forum to facilitate networking and dialogue among public sector, private sector and civil society to discuss regional development problems and prospects; Facilitating integration activities of the United Nations System and specialized agencies, in the framework of UN Resident Coordinator System at the national level; and Extending the outreach of ECA in Southern Africa to better serve the member States.

Category 1: Providing Technical Support to the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Member States.

8. Designed to enable ECA respond, in a timely manner, to unprogrammed requests for support from RECs and member States, about one half of professional staff time is allocated to this category of activities.

Technical Assistance to RECs

9. In collaboration with ECA headquarters divisions, provide technical support to COMESA, SADC, IOC and other intergovernmental organizations in the following areas:

• analysis of trends and economic performance;

• harmonization of economic and social policies;

• development of investment, fiscal and monetary policies;

• implementation of sub-regional protocols on transport, facilitation of inter-country traffic, implementation of the African Road Safety Initiative;

• improving connectivity and access to ICT;

• mining; and

• mainstreaming gender in development programmes.

1.2. Advisory Services to Member States

10. In collaboration with ECA headquarters divisions and cooperating partners, provide advisory services, upon request, to member States on key development issues including:

• harmonization of macroeconomic policies;

• development of transport, communications and information technology infrastructure and services;

• efficient exploitation of minerals and energy resources;

• management of the nexus issues of population, food security and environment;

• good governance; and

• gender and development.

Category 2: Facilitating Networking and Dialogue among Public Sector, Private Sector and Civil Society

11. The major comparative advantage of ECA among the development partners is its ability to convene a forum of a wide cross section of the development community. As an institution of both the United Nations and Africa, and given its location in Africa, ECA has access to most of the development partners in Africa. This access enables it to draw on the technical and some financial resources to address some key development issues in Africa. Thus, ECA can provide a forum for stakeholders to exchange views and build consensus on development policy.

12. The networking in Southern Africa is achieved through organized meetings, workshops, seminars and symposia as well as by disseminating development information from ECA and other partners in print or electronically. An Internet Web site will be developed at the Centre to facilitate dissemination of information.

The activities programmed for the biennium are summarized below.

1.1. Meetings of Intergovernmental Expert Bodies

13. These meetings provide a forum for national experts to examine key development issues in the subregion. Two types of meetings fall in this category: the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE), which has the oversight responsibility for the operations of SRDC-SA; and the ad-hoc experts, who examine technical documents before they are disseminated to the countries.

14. The ICE oversees the overall formulation and implementation of the programme of work priorities of SRDC and makes recommendations on important issues concerning economic and social development in the sub-region. Its meetings, therefore, provide opportunity for member States to assess the performance and approve the future work of the Centre. The ECA Secretariat will recommend to member States at the next meeting of the Commission, that the ICE should meet once in two years. This would be a change from the current practice of annual meetings. The recommendation is based on experience gained since 1997, when the annual meeting was instituted. Thus, the eighth meeting of ICE for SRDC-SA will be in the first quarter of 2003.

15. The reports to be presented to the next meeting of the ICE for SRDC-SA will cover progress in various economic and social sectors and identify key policy issues for consideration by the member States. The following reports will be presented:

1. Economic and social situation in the Southern Africa;

2. Biennial report on the work of the Southern African SRDC;

3. The status of regional cooperation and integration in the Southern African sub-region;

4. The status of governance in the Southern African countries;

5. Mainstreaming gender perspectives in national policies and programmes in the Southern African countries;

6. The status of food security and sustainable development in the Southern African sub-region;

7. Progress in the implementation of national information and communication infrastructure plans (NICI) in the Southern African countries;

8. Skills development in the mining sector in Southern Africa;

9. Strategies for women’s access to and ownership of land in Southern Africa;

10. Promotion of the informal sector for development in Southern Africa.

16. Furthermore, two ad-hoc experts group meetings will be organized during the biennium: a) land tenure systems and sustainable development in Southern Africa; and b) labour markets and employment in Southern Africa.

1.2. Group training (seminars/workshops/symposia)

17. Group training is designed as a forum for skills development in specific technical areas. SRDC-SA draws widely on technical capacities from ECA headquarters as well as from development institutions and partners in organizing these fora. The following are scheduled for the work period:

1. Workshop on growth strategies for poverty reduction – To examine strategies for achieving sustainable growth in the sub-region in order to achieve the goals from the World Summit on Social Development (Copenhagen 1995) of reducing poverty level in half by 2015. It is designed for experts from national planning and finance ministries. The Centre will seek collaboration from SADC Secretariat in particular in organizing the workshop.

2. Sub-regional seminar on the implementation of nexus issues of population, environment, sustainable development and Agriculture (PEDA) model in Southern Africa – Ensuring food security is a major challenge in the sub-region. The PEDA Model was developed by ECA as a tool for analysis of the interactions among the key variables, namely population, environment and agriculture. Collaboration will be sought from SADC/FANA and PAID-ESA.

3. Symposium on trade and investment promotion in Southern Africa – This will be a follow-up to the Workshop on Trade and Investment Promotion in Southern Africa, which the Centre organize in 1999 in collaboration with COMESA, MIGA Promote Africa and the Zambia Investment Centre. The symposium will assess the implementation of the action plans from the 1999 workshop and consider follow-up actions. SRDC-SA will consult the above partners as well as others who might be interested in organizing the symposium.

4. Sub-regional training workshop on issues and trends in decentralization for improved local governance – The workshop is designed for national planners to share experiences and best practices in implementation of decentralization programmes in the sub-region. The Centre will seek collaboration from training institutions such as ESAMI and PAID-ESA.

5. Workshop on Customs as a tool for economic integration – The launch of both the COMESA FTA and SADC Trade Protocol pose special challenge to the two organizations in harmonizing the respective customs procedures. ECA will seek collaboration with the secretariats of COMESA and SADC in organizing the workshop.

6. Special Event: Forum on information and communications technology and governance in Southern Africa – This is now a regular feature of ECA meetings aimed at focusing attention to key development issues in Africa. Advances in information and communications technology have opened up opportunities in all spheres of development. The participation of all citizens in governance is one area, which can be greatly enhanced by harnessing the power of this technology.

2.3. Publications

18. SRDC-SA undertakes regular reviews of the economic and social conditions in the subregion. In-depth studies will also be carried out in specific areas of concern. The following studies are planned for the biennium:

1. Economic and Social Conditions in Southern Africa (annual);

2. Southern Africa Development Bulletin (annual);

3. Land tenure systems and sustainable development in Southern Africa; and

4. Labour markets and employment in Southern Africa.

Category 3: Facilitating Integration Activities of UN Resident Coordinator System

19. SRDC-SA will co-operate with other agencies of the United Nations system in the context of the UN Resident Coordinator System in the implementation of operational activities in relevant clusters. This includes the UN System-wide Special Initiative on Africa (UNSIA), the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa (UNADAF), and the Common Country Assessment (CCA) and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) at the national level.

Category 4: Extending the Outreach of ECA in Southern Africa

20. The SRDC’s were established to carry out the outreach function of ECA. That is, to bring ECA closer to its member States. In this role, SRDC-SA will monitor the development activities and collect data, as required, from the countries. In order to facilitate this activity, member States are requested to designate national focal points for ECA. The staff of SRDC-SA will also undertake occasional missions to the countries.

21. The Centre also plans to extend the current pilot project in Zambia on promoting informal sector for development in Africa to other countries in Southern Africa. Member States who may be interested in the project will be assisted in formulating project proposals for financing as well as in implementing them.