Deepening Integration in SADC - Fes-botswana.org

However, Regional initiatives and forms of multilateral co-operation
have not to date, really helped Mozambique and some other members
states to ensure integration into the SADC or to change the political,
economic or social environment in the region in a more essential
manner. Other weaknesses of memberships in various regional
initiatives are:
Work programmes are similar and cover the same fields;
Lack of clear goals and work plans;
Insufficient influence of the member countries on the process of
shaping various initiatives and planning projects;
Dominant influence of administrative structures - "top-down" not
a "bottom-up" nature;
Orientation towards the holding of meetings instead of project activities;
Vast and sometimes unclear mechanisms;
Numerous structures that have not found optimal ways to cooperate
in common areas (duplication and overlapping);
No financial resources of its own;
Administrative procedures of the international finance institutions
that considerably slow down the process of final disbursement of
funds for projects;
Concrete results achieved are less visible than expected;
Growing number of same countries have become participants of
different initiatives;
Initiatives have more or less the same partners in Southern Africa
and international organisations; and
Insufficient administrative experience of the member states, etc.
Mozambique is member of SADC and the Growth Triangle Initiative
involving Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. Recently, the country study
was conducted to consider the costs and benefits of joining SACU,
but unfortunately no results have been obtained yet. If it joins, it would
no longer have its exports to South Africa circumscribed by SADC's
stringent Rules of Origin.
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