SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY (SADC)

1.4.1 Objectives of SADC ""

The objectives of the Community as stated in the Treaty are to:

• Achieve development and economic growth, alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the peoples of-southern Africa and support the socially disadvantaged through regional integration.

• Evolve common political values, systems and institutions.

• Promote and defend peace and security.

• Promote self-sustaining development on the basis of collective self-reliance, and the inter-dependence of Member States.

• Achieve complementarity between national and regional strategies and

programmes.

• Promote and maximize productive employment and utilization of resources of the region.

• Achieve sustainable utilization of natural resources and effective protection of the environment.

• Strengthen and consolidate the long-standing historical, social and cultural affinities and links among the peoples of the region.

To achieve its objectives, SADC shall:

• Harmonize political and socio-economic policies and plans of Member States.

• Mobilize the peqples of the region and their institutions to take initiatives to develop, economic, social and cultural ties across the region, and to participate fully in the implementation of the programmes and projects of SADC.

• Create appropriate institutions and mechanisms for the mobilization of requisite resources for the implementation of the programmes and operations of SADC and its institutions.

• Develop policies aimed at the gradual elimination of obstacles to free movement of capital and labour, goods and services, and of the peoples of the region generally among Member States.

• Promote the development of human resources.

• Promote the development, transfer and mastery of technology.

• Improve economic management and performance through regional cooperation.

• Promote the coordination and harmonization of the international relations of Member States.

• Promote international understanding, cooperation and support, mobilize the inflow of public and private resources into the region.

• Develop such other activities as Member States may decide in furtherance of the objectives of SADC.

The SADC signatories agree that underdevelopment, exploitation, deprivation and backwardness in Southern Africa will only be overcome through economic cooperation and integration. The Member States recognize that achieving regional economic integration in Southern Africa requires them to put their full support behind SADC to act on behalf of all Southern Africans for their common prosperity, peace and unity

1.4.2 Current status

A. Telecommunications network and services A.1 Infrastructure

The growth in demand for telephone lines has risen astronomically. Between 1997 and 1998 fixed lines grew by 17 per cent whist cellular operations rose sharply to 60 per cent over the same period.

The number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) is also proliferating in the region, and the use of electronic mail (e-mail) is growing at a fast pace as a direct result. To address this skyrocketing demand SATA approved in December 1999 the implementation of a regional backbone at a cost of about US$180 million over 6 years, starting from year 2000 (SATCC, 2000).

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-This backbone, SADC Regional Information Infrastructure (SRI!) will link all the SADC [MAP 3] countries by means of high capacity digital land and submarine routes, using microwave and optical fibre cables.

A.2 Institutional and legal framework

The Regional Telecommunications Restructuring Programme (RTRP) which was the main organ for implementing reforms ended its operations in September 1999. So far, no project is in place to assist in keeping momentum of the work, but the Telecommunications Regulatory Association of Southern Africa (TRASA) and Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA), associations of telecommunications regulatory authorities and of telecommunications operators are pursuing activities in their respective areas. Furthermore, the SATCC Telecommunications Committee is overseeing the general progress in the sector.

The SATCC Telecommunications Committee, as the body responsible for implementing the telecommunications part of the Protocol, monitored the progress achieved by its meetings in June and December 1999 in Dar es Salaam and Mauritius respectively. Its main decisions include a need for a policy on information technology as an addition to the existing policy on telecommunications as well as a project to effectively develop human resources. The desired discussion paper on information Technology for SADC has been developed by SATCC-TU and the necessary consultative process will be undertaken for its eventual transformation to policy document.

The ongoing reforms are based on the SADC Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology that came into force in July 1998. Since then, only Zambia has not ratified the SADC Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology. However, the country is in the process of finalizing the ratification procedures and has demonstrated its commitment to the Protocol by proceeding with the implementation of many provisions.

Furthermore, ten model legislative provisions (MLPs) and model agreements were adopted to serve as regional guidelines for national reform processes. These include MLPs on investment in transport, telecommunications, commercial ports, maritime and inland waterway authority, road network financing and management, provision of air services, airports and air traffic and navigation services, and civil aviation authority. Other agreements adopted are the Model Telecommunications Protocol.

The Protocol sets forth the objectives of the Community in regard to transport, communications and meteorology, and specifies the policies and strategies by which these objectives are to be attained. Each member State has now formed a National Protocol Implementation Coordination Team (N-PICT); for each of eight subsectors, namely Roads, Railways, Maritime and Inland Waterways, Civil Aviation, Integrated Transport, Telecommunications, Postal Services, and Meteorology.

The private sector is currently involved in the provision of basic telephone services and decisions have been taken in most Member States to privatize, partially or wholly, the government-owned telecommunications entities. As of May 2000, South Africa and

partnership for basic telephone services, Tanzania is also about to conclude a strategic partnership agreement. Such agreements will probably be concluded in Lesotho, Malawi and Mauritius in 2001.

TRASA is taking actions to assist in making the SADC region become a part of the Global Information Society within a reasonable period.

The Protocol on Transport, Communication and Meteorology, the Telecommunications Policies for SADC and the SADC Model Legislation have assigned a crucial roie to regulators in attaining this objective.

in April 1999, TRASA adopted an Action Programme for the period 1999-2001.

The Programme consists of strategies and time-bound actions in a number of priority

areas:

Encourage and support the timely formation and operation of autonomous regulatory institution in the SADC region.

Ten countries out of the 14 SADC Member States now have active autonomous regulatory authorities. These are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

The harmonization of national legislation with the SADC Model Telecommunications Policy and Legislation has been undertaken in a number of countries including Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Develop regulatory policies and procedures to serve as a TRASA model for the operation of regulatory institutions in the region.

a) Interconnection and tariff

Guidelines and regulations on interconnection and tariff have been completed.

They have been endorsed by the SATCC Telecommunications Committee and recommended for approval by a meeting of the SATCC Committee of Ministers in November 2000.

b) SADC Radio Frequency Band Plan

A Regional Frequency Band Plan has been produced c) Universal Service and Licensing

Phase 1 of a study on universal service and licensing has been completed.

Subsequently, policy guidelines and regulations on universal service and licensing will be prepared in phase 2 of the study. Guidelines in other priority areas, for example, standards and numbering, are in different stages of development.

Progress in the conduct of institutional reform and network development was noticeable during 1999/2000 [TABLE 6].

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B. Postal networks and services

The processing of the MLP on Postal Services by the respective subsectoral committee was completed in April 2000 and expected to get final endorsement by the Ministers in 2000.

The Regional Postal Industry is undergoing fundamental changes in policy, regulatory and operational framework as public and private operators are allowed to compete on equal footing. Postal operations are being separated from regulatory functions although the majority of Member States have not yet established independent regulatory bodies. At least five Member States Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania have regulatory authorities. A few other countries are in the final stage of doing so. It is anticipated that the remaining countries will have regulatory framework incorporated into national laws on the basis of the Model Legislative provisions on Postal Services. At regional level, the postal operators and, to some extent, the regulators are in the process of establishing their respective regional bodies. Thus, the Southern Africa Postal Operators Association (SAPOA) is to be established within 12 months from April 2000,

Despite the current shortcomings of the region's transport, communications and meteorological services systems, there is reason for optimism that the problems will be addressed in the short to medium term. These include:

• A basic telecommunications, postal network to build on;

• Needed policy, legal, and institutional reforms are well underway, and the region is committed to their completion over the next few years.

1.5. CENTRAL AFRICAN ECONOMIC MONITORING COMMUNITY (CEMAC)