Tanzanian President and outgoing SADC Chairperson, Benjamin Mkapa, has exhorted SADC Secretariat staff to be efficient and effective, and to rise to the challenge of championing faster regional cooperation and integration.

During a visit to the Secretariat in Botswana on 27 July, President Mkapa spoke around the vision, mission and values of the SADC Secretariat, emphasising the primary task of enabling member states to achieve their goal of creating one strong integrated and competitive development community.

He said that regional integration is “… driven by the spirit of looking forward, and jointly working towards the kind of role we want to play as a region, and the opportunities and benefits we want to access in a globalising world.”

President Mkapa said the work of the Community is a partnership where the political leaders bring political will and resources for regional cooperation and integration, while the Secretariat brings expertise to transform that political will and resources into visible and shared progress.

"We bring the what, you bring the how," the Tanzanian president emphasised, saying that without the SADC Secretariat, "no amount of political will, guidance and oversight from us will produce effective regional integration and sustainable development."

The SADC Secretariat was challenged to go beyond coordination and harmonisation of policies and rather objectively monitor compliance and timely implementation of decisions because, "... anyone among us who slows down nationally slows down every one of us regionally."

On the restructuring of SADC institutions, President Mkapa said that the challenges relate to management of institutional change where human nature, apprehensive of new arrangements, resists change.

"I want to assure you that most of the fears of change are largely unfounded. Reform does not necessarily mean the end of the world we know. All challenges should be seen as transitional problems, and the birth pangs of new, more effective and more efficient SADC institutions," he said.