by Joseph Ngwawi – SANF 07 No 38
SADC Member States are scaling up the provision of regional infrastructure, a critical foundation for the speedy realization of regional integration objectives.
Infrastructure support intervention has been placed at the core of the region’s community-building agenda and concerted efforts are being made to ensure the availability of an integrated, efficient and cost-effective system to sustain regional economic development and trade.
To this end, five intervention areas have been prioritised, as contained in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan – SADC’s 15-year blueprint. These are energy generation, transport, communications technology and meteorology, water infrastructure, and tourism.
This is expected to ensure the availability of reliable and least-cost energy supplies; and the provision of efficient, cost-effective and safe transport, communications and meteorology systems.
Water infrastructure is a priority, including the promotion of integrated water resources development and management as well as their equitable sharing for mutual benefit; and joint promotion of tourism is planned to achieve sustainable socio-economic development and as an incentive for conservation of the region’s natural resources.
Significant strides have been made to improve the level and quality of infrastructure in the region in order to attract investment, increase competitiveness and promote trade.
However, major challenges of a political, economic and financial as well as institutional nature are causing delays in the implementation of identified regional infrastructure projects.
In the area of energy, power pooling has been at the core of regional initiatives. The plan is to achieve 100 percent connectivity to the regional power grid for all member states by 2012 and to have at least 70 percent of all rural households with access to electricity by 2018.
Efforts are directed at boosting southern Africa’s electricity generation capacity, with almost 50 short and long term projects currently underway or earmarked for future development.
The new projects identified so far have the potential to increase SADC’s total electricity generation capacity by more than 42,000 megawatts (MW) between 2007 and 2027. Present combined capacity is only 52,743 MW, of which 41,000 MW is secured capacity available for distribution to consumers against demand of 42,000 MW.
The ultimate goal is to transform the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) from a cooperative to a competitive pool and to create a regional electricity market.
The region is facilitating the development of other energy resources such as biomass energy and bio-fuels, to augment the power sector capacity.
To strengthen self-sufficiency in petroleum and gas resources, southern Africa is also undertaking joint exploration and development of these commodities.
Cooperation in this area includes harmonisation of policies, regulations and legislation to facilitate cross-border trade, improve capacity utilisation and liaison in joint procurement of petroleum products in the world market.
The region’s transport systems, particularly the railways, were initially constructed to radiate from the coastal ports to provide former colonial powers with access to and control over the inland areas. As urban and industrial centres began to develop, the focus switched to inland transport.
However, from a regional perspective, port-based routes or corridors continue to be important for the landlocked countries, particularly in international trade. Recent and ongoing investments are expected to increase the range of choice of routes to the sea via road, rail and port systems of adequate capacity.
There has also been considerable interest in transport corridors, which link ports and their connecting road and rail systems to investment in industry, mining, agriculture and tourism.
These initiatives is the Maputo Development Corridor through Mozambique and South Africa, and the Trans Kalahari Corridor connecting Namibia’s port of Walvis Bay to South Africa’s industrial heartland, thus completing a transport route across the region linking east and west coasts.
The concept has been introduced to the other corridors linking regional ports with their hinterlands, and is being rolled out all over the region.
A lot of work has also been put into facilitating the development of water infrastructure, particularly comprehensive, integrated basin-wide plans and improvement of the legal and regulatory framework at national and regional levels to ensure harmonised policies and legislation.
The SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses, which took effect in September 2003 after ratification by two-thirds of SADC Member States, has been instrumental in strengthening cooperation in joint management of the region’s 15 shared river basins and avoiding conflict over water resources.
Robust tourism infrastructure is also seen as key to deepening of regional integration and development. Among the targets for SADC member states is the introduction of a universal visa by 2009.
The SADC Univisa system will facilitate intra-regional travel through the removal of travel and visa restrictions and harmonisation of immigration procedures for SADC citizens, as well as facilitation of cross-border movement of international tourists in order to increase southern Africa’s market share in world tourism.
Harmonisation of tourism and immigration policies, legislation and standards are expected to be completed by 2009.
Spurred by the Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons in SADC signed in August 2005, at least seven countries in the region have signed bilateral agreements to waive visa requirements for citizens of other member states.
Trans Frontier Conservation Area are also key to joint tourism promotion in southern Africa, ahead of the FIFA World Cup to be held in the region in 2010.
