PRESENTATIONS AT THE LLDC EXPERT GROUP MEETING: UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK MAXWELL MKUMBA SENIOR POLICY RESEARCH ADVISOR SADC Secretariat, BOTSWANA.

Introduction o Infrastructure development and Trade Facilitation are at the core of the SADC Regional Integration Agenda. o The policy space for planning for quality infrastructure for the landlocked countries, from a regional perspective is, therefore, more urgent now than when the first initiative was undertaken in Almaty. o In the SADC Region alone, there are 6 countries, of the 32 LLDCs. This represents 19% of the LLDCs globally and 38% of the LLDCs in Africa. Africa has 16 LLDCs.

BROADLY, THE SADC REGIONAL INTEGRATION AGENDA IS ANCHORED ON THE FOLLOWING: Revised RISDP SADC Protocols & Other Legal Instruments  Transport  Trade  Movement of Persons  Trade in Services  Model laws, policies, regulations and agreements  Regional Standards  Guidelines  Best Practices

 Tripartite Initiatives  Bilateral Agreements  Multilateral Agreements, e.g. WTO Agreements, UN etc

Examples of Specific Instruments  Direction from Ministers – Ministerial Task Force, Committee of the Ministers of Trade, other Ministerial and Technical Committees  Annex 4 Trade Protocol  Regional Transport Corridors  Joint Route Management  Joint Law Enforcement  Third Party MV Insurance  Road User Charges  One Stop Border Posts

 Under Trade Facilitation, the examples of the Areas of Cooperation from Annex II of the Trade Protocol  Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Laws and Procedures  Tariff and Statistical Nomenclatures  Harmonization of Valuation Laws  Computerization of Customs Operations  Training, skills exchange, shared resources  Enforcement  Exchange of information

What has been achieved so far?  Accession to the Revised Kyoto Convention – all Member States, except Angola, DRC, Seychelles and Tanzania have acceded to the RKC. Accession obliges Customs to adhere to international best practices  On line mechanism for reporting and resolving NTBs and the establishment of National Monitoring Committees  SADC Integrated Regional Electronic Payment System (SIRESS)

Engagement of Customs and Stakeholders eg Customs to Business Forums in almost all Member States; work is underway to formalize launch of these forums in DRC, Seychelles and Tanzania  Availability of trade information through websites and trade portals  Computerization of Customs processes Harmonization of hours of operations at certain border posts eg Chirundu, Kazungula; Kasumulo/Songwe; Transkalahari /Mamuno; Zobue/Mwanza;  Review of hours of operation at some border posts eg Chirundu; Kasumbalesa; Tunduma/Nakonde; Mwami/Mchinji between Malawi and Zambia;  Joint Border Committees and Coordinated Border Management

Border Management  One Stop Border Posts eg Chirundu; Priority border posts have been identified – ongoing work and the concept is at different stages of being developed;  Enhanced cooperation by Customs Administrations in order to harmonize procedures and enhance flow of trade at border posts

Capacity Building SADC has a Training The Trainer Programme whose approach is based on the following principles:  Trainers are trained so that they develop training programmes for their own Member States  Focus on enhancing the understanding and implementation of the SADC Protocol on trade SQAM Standardisation, Quality, Accreditation and Metrology (Quality Infrastructure)- Use of international standards in order not to obstruct trade Strengthen SQAM institutions in Member States Establish SADC Accreditation Services Harmonisation of standards e.g food

OUTSTANDING ISSUES  Trade, banking & insurance processes  National Single Window Concept  Simplified Trade Regime for cross borders or the small trader  Transit Management System  Further harmonization & simplification in the light of the Tripartite  Development of a SADC comprehensive trade facilitation programme

Implementation Challenges  Programming through the strategic frameworks such as the SADC Revised RISDP does not have specific provisions of the LLDCs  Freedom of transit as a principle – this is international law which is derived from the access to the Sea for landlocked countries. Do LLDCs know about the provisions of the law, and do the states that need to give access appreciate the provisions of this law?  How much engagement is there between the UN-OHRLLS and the REC Secretariats, by way of concluding some agreements with measurable indicators for reporting back periodically?

Implementation Challenges…  The SADC Region has three official languages, for historical reasons: English, Portuguese and French, and this diversity may be both beneficial and bottleneck.  There is a gap between agreeing on regional instruments and implementation: to enable implementation you need to incorporate agreed regional instruments into national laws  There is no enforcement mechanism  Overlapping membership

SADC Regional Integration Agenda within the VPoA C. Peace and Security Cooperation Given the structure of the six landlocked developing countries in SADC, and their impact on the SADC Regional Integration Agenda, it is exciting to see that the VPoA has included Regional Integration and Cooperation among its priorities. Between Almaty and Vienna, the global platform has become more competitive, demanding collective approach.

Imperatives of Infrastructure, Trade and Trade Facilitation in SADC  The RIDMP, which was approved in 2012, is a very ambitious Plan which seeks to address prevailing infrastructure gaps and the missing links in the Region, in order to attain the key regional objectives of facilitating Poverty Reduction and Attainment of MDGs, and Promote Economic Development. These are in line with those contained in the Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA).

SADC’s Focus on Infrastructure Development  The SADC RIDMP also interfaces with both the AU Programme of Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Inter- Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan.  For SADC, the VPoA offers an opportunity to collectively measure progress in addressing the need of the LLDCs, which are also most affected by rampart poverty.

SADC’s Focus on Infrastructure Development (cont’d)  SADC, through the Revised RISDP and the RIDMP, wants to harmonise strategies, policies and regulatory frameworks for development and operation of cross-border infrastructure and services; enhance integrated infrastructure and networks; and improve capacity for construction, maintenance and operation of regional infrastructure and services

 Increased access and affordability to infrastructure and services  Increased competitiveness and liberalisation of regional markets for energy, ICT, transport and tourism.  Moving forward, SADC will continue to put RIDMP at the core of its regional integration agenda through: Imperatives for SADC…

Main Elements of SADC’s Infrastructure Plan… Specific objectives (a)Intermodal Surface Transport – this is necessary to reduce high transport costs among the LLDCs. The policy choices of intermodal transport need to combine factors such as costs, infrastructure quality and logistics services. o While road transport is the most dominant mode the RIDMP to revive rail systems within the various Regional Corridors.

Corridor Development Initiatives…

o SADC is also facilitating the development of new air transport hubs and gateways, as well as airports rehabilitation, expansion and modernisation. Air transportation plays an important role in connecting LLDCs, both in terms of movement of goods and natural persons. (b)SADC is also addressing issues of infrastructure for trade facilitation. SADC Infrastructure Plan…

SADC Trade Facilitation… o SADC is facilitating the introduction of the One-Stop Border Posts and has also embarked on Border Efficiency Projects across the Region. o SADC is also promoting the development of infrastructure in energy, water, and ICT. The SADC SAPP Pool Plan is still alive, and so are initiatives to increase the Regional generation capacities.

Trade Facilitation: “Simplification, harmonization of trade procedures…”.  Some of the areas are: Bank/insurance procedures; Customs processes; Border delays; Transport network; Transport procedures; Security issues, etc.

o SADC is facilitating the Regional Information Infrastructure (SRII) to push SADC towards one economic space. Infrastructure for Regional Integration in SADC (Cont’d)

o SADC is spearheading Strategic Water Infrastructure Development Programme (SWIDP) & Cooperation in Studies and Project Preparation. Here, emphasis should be placed on both Shared Watercourses and feasibilities of developing inland waterways, the case in point being the Shire-Zambezi Waterway initiative. Can we learn from the Suez and Panama Canals?

Harmonisation of Policies, Regulations and Systems is a Compelling in SADC  One of the objectives of SADC’s trade and infrastructure development programmes is the harmonisation of strategies, policies, regulations, systems and standards. SADC is working towards ensuring that there is: harmonization of road design standards; standardization of axle load limits, vehicle weights and dimensions;

Harmonisation of Policies, Regulations and Systems(Cont’d) Harmonisation of modalities for infrastructure cost recovery is important. For instance, the types of charges levied in SADC are varying. While they assist countries in improving availability and quality of road transport services, there should be predictability; Liberalisation & integration of regional markets for infrastructure services.

Building the necessary capacities for construction, maintenance and operation of regional infrastructure and services is very critical for the SADC Region. The issue of enhancing productive capacities is critical for economic use of infrastructure. Chronic trade imbalances are making LLDCs more vulnerable to high transport costs, with high in-bound load and low out-bound load. Harmonisation of Policies, Regulations, and Systems (Cont’d)

Proposed Financing Mechanisms for Infrastructure Projects in SADC  Infrastructure development and trade facilitation require massive financing. In the case of SADC, lack of funding is causing slow progress in the implementation of various programmes and projects.  Innovative ways are, therefore, required to accelerate implementation of the initiatives.

Financing  SADC set up a Project Preparation and Development Facility (PPDF) for packaging projects to bankability;  SADC Development Fund set up to fund, among others, infrastructure development projects;  SADC will also continue to explore Alterative Sources of Funding, and these include working on the Modalities for Cost Recoveries.

Financing of the Infrastructure Development in SADC  Development Finance Institutions play a pivotal role in financing infrastructure based on bilateral agreements;  Linking infrastructure development to the extractive industries is one way of financing infrastructure development. The Vale Group has successfully partnered with some SADC Member States on the Nacala Corridor development.

CONCLUSION SADC Regional infrastructure development and Trade Facilitation initiatives provide opportunities for the addressing the developmental needs of the LLDCs and the SADC Region as whole. However, there is need for proactive policy re-orientation to have the desired results and reduce vulnerabilities of the LLDCs in the Region.

SADC will continue to promote corridor development initiatives that benefit the LLDCs. SADC will also continue to provide the necessary platform for inter-sectoral linkages, for instance, trade facilitation; access to affordable energy to boost production and value addition; ICT connectivity and affordability; and water and sanitation for the LLDCs, including the use of regional water bodies.

SADC looks forward to further constructive engagement and building of strong partnerships on the VPoA, in terms of overall planning, implementation, as well as monitoring and evaluation. International legal instruments alone can not work; there is need for regional-level engagement with the transit countries to ensure that the underlying objectives are mutually fulfilled. Last Word: