Programme Director, Ambassador Tebogo Seokolo, DDG: Africa,
Senior officials from government departments,
Representatives of state-owned enterprises and public entities,
Representatives from the SADC Secretariat,
Esteemed scholars and experts,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon,

It is a pleasure to join you as we reflect on two and a half days of rigorous dialogue aimed at advancing South Africa’s leadership and sustaining momentum behind our Chairship of the Southern African Development Community.

Let me thank the European Union Delegation in South Africa, led by Ambassador Sandra Kramer, for its steadfast support in organising this workshop, and acknowledge the institutional support of the SADC Secretariat.

I also thank the senior officials, scholars and experts whose contributions have helped bridge the gap between policy ambition and operational reality. I am informed that you have honoured your commitment to identify high-impact strategic priorities for our Chairship.

You began with a strategic framing of regional integration.

You then received the SADC Secretariat’s presentation on the Mid-Term Review of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP). From there, you moved into focused breakaway sessions to assess performance, identify constraints and formulate practical recommendations.

I understand that these deliberations have now been synthesised into a coherent set of priorities. I look forward to receiving the full report.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We meet at a time of considerable global uncertainty.

The geopolitical and economic environment in which we assume our Chairship responsibilities demands coordination, resolve and vigilance.

This places upon us both a responsibility and an opportunity: to provide steady leadership during a period of transition, and to shape regional integration in a manner that is practical, responsive and focused on implementation.

The recent SADC Council of Ministers, held here at the O.R. Tambo Building, resolved that the Chairperson of Council should convene a Retreat of Ministers of Foreign Affairs to assess the impact of evolving global geopolitical developments on our region. Preparations are already underway.

We cannot afford to be passive observers while some states reshape the global order in ways that risk reversing gains achieved over decades in international law, global trade, peace and security, food security and ocean governance.

Professor Garth Le Pere recommended that we all read the SADC document titled 40 Years of SADC: Enhancing Regional Cooperation and Integration. I encourage all of you to engage with it.

It traces the evolution of our organisation and highlights important achievements, including the SADC Free Trade Area, the Real Time Gross Settlement System for cross-border payments, the Southern African Power Pool, the Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre, River Basin Organisations, the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and the SADC Standby Force.

At the same time, it candidly identifies persistent challenges: slow domestication of protocols, limited enforcement mechanisms and reliance on external financing.

We must confront these challenges decisively if we are to realise our shared vision of a peaceful, industrialised, middle-to high-income region in which all citizens enjoy sustainable economic well-being, justice and freedom.

South Africa’s Chairship must therefore build on the achievements of our predecessors while making a tangible contribution to strengthening the effectiveness of SADC.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The SADC Executive Secretary reminded us at the opening of this workshop that SADC has adopted more than 35 protocols across key sectors, yet the central challenge remains effective implementation, domestication and enforcement.

He also highlighted critical constraints, including financing gaps, climate vulnerability and exposure to external shocks.

Addressing these challenges requires accelerated industrialisation, stronger regional value chains, investment in human capital and sustainable financing mechanisms, particularly through the operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund.

I am encouraged that the workstreams over the past two days have responded directly to these concerns.

The feedback I have received confirms that the SADC region is not constrained by a lack of frameworks, vision or institutional architecture. The core challenge is implementation.

The gap between regional commitments and measurable outcomes continues to define the limits of our progress.

It is therefore significant that your deliberations focused not on creating new frameworks, but on interrogating performance, identifying binding constraints and proposing practical, RISDP-aligned interventions.

The Mid-Term Review provides an important evidence base in this regard. It confirms that while the RISDP remains conceptually sound, implementation, currently estimated at just over sixty per cent, has been inconsistent and insufficiently coordinated.

This requires a decisive shift from policy articulation to disciplined execution, and from broad commitments to focused, high-impact priorities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This brings us back to the vision that guides our work.

Vision 2050 gives us a compelling dream of a common future in which all people of the region enjoy socio-economic well-being, improved quality of life, freedom, peace and social justice.

The Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan gives us the steppingstones towards that future. But the path ahead is not without obstacles.

Let me mention two of these obstacles.

The first is the public mood in our own country, including weak public awareness of regional integration and the recent acts of violence and intimidation directed at migrants from our continent.

Here is the positive news: Afrobarometer’s 2025 survey tells us that 6 in 10 South Africans believe it is better for our economy if we make it easier to trade with other countries. That gives us a basis on which to build a stronger narrative about regional and continental integration.

But there is also a warning we must take seriously. Only 12 per cent of South Africans interviewed had heard of the African Continental Free Trade Area. This means that more than 80 per cent of our citizens were unaware of one of the continent’s most important economic integration projects.

If awareness of the continental free trade area is this low, what would the numbers look like if citizens were asked about SADC Vision 2050, the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan and the quest for a common, prosperous future in our region?

The success of any strategy depends not only on its technical design. It also depends on our ability to frame and champion a vision that society can rally behind. We must demonstrate that ordinary South Africans stand to gain from regional integration.

This task is even more urgent in light of acts of violence and intimidation are directed at migrants from elsewhere on our continent.

South Africa is governed by the rule of law and respect for human rights. No civilian has the authority to assume the functions of law enforcement agencies. Acts of lawlessness, intimidation and violence against migrant communities have no place in our constitutional democracy.

As the Minister of Police pronounced this morning, government will act against those who foment chaos and target migrants. These acts of violence constitute a threat to our constitutional order.

The pronouncement that all those found to be participating in, inciting or supporting such criminal conduct will face the full might of the law must be welcomed by all of us.

The second obstacle is the global geopolitical climate and the challenges this presents for our ambitions.

The ongoing conflict in US-Israel war on Iran and Lebanon has already sent shockwaves through the global economy, with direct consequences for our region. Our societies are experiencing rising oil prices, higher fertiliser costs and cost-of-living challenges.

All of this is compounded by unemployment, especially among young people, climate-related shocks, food insecurity, disrupted livelihoods, transboundary animal diseases and the burden of communicable diseases.

These pressures come at a time when many of our countries are already carrying a heavy debt burden.

These developments will only worsen our structural vulnerabilities.

Growth across the region remains modest. Intra-regional trade continues to fluctuate between 19 and 23 per cent, while manufacturing contributes just over 12 per cent to regional GDP.

These are the conditions under which we assume the Chairship. They must shape how we plan, how we prioritise and how we implement.

As you depart from this workshop, I wish to leave you with two questions.

First, how do we build public confidence in regional integration in ways that counter those who thrive on narrow nationalism, misinformation and xenophobic sentiment?

Second, how do we plan for South Africa’s Chairship in a global environment that is unstable, unpredictable and already placing additional pressure on our economies and our people?

I urge you to think about these questions from your special vantage point as senior public servants.

Thank you for listening. I wish you safe travels to your different destinations.

ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

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