The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) are working on the third Cooperation for the Enhancement of SADC Regional Economic Integration programme (CESARE III).
The programme aims to further improve cooperation between the SADC Secretariat, Member States and relevant sector bodies to deepen economic integration, exploit the potential for greater added value at regional level, support the economic empowerment of women, and contribute to good governance and peace in the Region.
A presentation made at the Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (TIFI) Thematic Group meeting on 10th November 2022 prepared by Mr Jonne Bruecher of GIZ and a consultant, Ms Petra Voionmaa, shows that CESARE III will run for three years with a budget of €12,2 million from the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation (BMZ) and an additional €6 million co-financed by the European Union (EU) Delegation in Lesotho for regional value chains. A further co-financing of €4.4 million from the EU Delegation in Botswana for Trade in Services is under negotiation.
Strategic considerations under CESARE III will be the use of the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030 as a guiding document, focus on implementation of regional policies and value creation within regional value chains, increased emphasis on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and digitisation.
The objective of CESAREIII is to improve framework conditions for trade in the SADC Region and it envisages four outputs. Trade in Services will fall under Output 1 of this objective with Phase 1 dealing with the implementation and monitoring and adaptation of regulations; mutual recognition agreements; and bringing in line SADC and AfCFTA commitments.
Output 2 will deal with trade facilitation and this includes implementation of existing instruments, in particular the electronic Certificate of Origin (e-CoO), the SADC Simplified Trade Regime (STR), and Corridor Trip Monitoring System (CTMS), among others. This output also seeks to resolve the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) in SADC, and to pilot further trade facilitation initiatives in the Region.
Output 3 will deal with productive capacities in selected value chains. These include business skills development; technical capacity; registration and certification; and introduction of new technologies. Output 4 will deal with regional linkages in selected value chains. This will support product specific regional regulations and mutual recognition, facilitating back-to-back transactions in SADC Member States, and feasibility assessments.
The value chains that CESARE III will deal with are in pharmaceuticals and medical products; leather; agro-processing and agro-inputs. There is potential for further Trade in Services focused value chains, digital professions, finance, banking, transport and logistics. Cross-cutting issues to be dealt with will include digitisation, women in business and green trade.
The CESARE programme has been ongoing since 2008 and various outcomes have been achieved since then. As part of trade, electronic certificates of origin have been developed. CESARE I and II have dealt with trade facilitation to support regional economic industrialisation; Support towards the Industrialisation and Productive Sectors in the SADC Region (SIPS); engagement with SADC Member States in Peace, Security and Good Governance; and industrialisation and women empowerment.
The programme was instrumental in removing NTBs to trade which had been introduced in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through support of this programme, the SADC Business Council and the Secretariat engaged with private and government sectors through workshops and virtual meetings. This resulted in the free flow of certain pharmaceutical exports without delays caused by export permit application needs, restored trade flows and increased the livelihoods and health of citizens in the Region.
The CESARE programme contributed to the successful completion of the development and ratification of the SADC Protocol on Trade in services which entered into force in January 2022. The Protocol provides the framework for a preferential trade agreement covering all commercial and tradable services in any services sector. It aims to encourage increased intra-regional trade in services through the gradual removal of unnecessary or overburdensome regulations affecting the cross-border supply of services with the SADC Region.
