Development partners from East and southern Africa region are meeting in Lusaka for a two day meeting to discuss implementation of the Sub-Regional Coordination Mechanism (SRCM). The high-level meeting organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and COMESA is taking place on 17th and 18th November 2014 in Lusaka, Zambia.
The SRCM for the United Nations System-wide Support to the African Union, Regional Economic Communities in East and Southern Africa was established in November 2010 by development partners operating in the two regions as a coordinated platform for working together to maximize resources and impact. In November 2012, a 5year business plan was developed and subsequently adopted to facilitate the implementation of the SRCM which is chaired by COMESA and coordinated by ECA Regional offices for East and Southern Africa
During the official opening of the meeting in Lusaka, COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya called for a defined and structured road map in the implementation of the SRCM underpinned by core principles. Ngwenya said that the SRCM business plan should be linked to the Tripartite and Continental Free Trade Area. He further called for ownership, responsibility and joint programming between SRCM stakeholders.
On her part, UN Resident Coordinator for Zambia Janet Rogan said the SRCM needs to prioritize programs that meet the highest aspirations of people around the world and the two regions to reflect the future they want. She noted that the flagship programs of SRCM all sit within the context of the 17 proposed Sustainable Development Goals including agriculture, food security, sustainable tourism and energy security.
Meanwhile ECA Southern Africa Regional Director said working together to support regional priorities and initiatives especially of the three main regional economic communities-COMESA, SADC, and EAC was no longer a question of choice but of necessity. A necessity imposed by the challenge of rationalized efficiency, cost reduction, and better technical and operational support to those institutions. He said the SRCM provides a structured and organized platform for effective and efficient delivery of development programs.
The meeting has brought together over fifty delegates from various,RECs, IGOs, UN agencies and other stakeholders from the East and Southern Africa region.
The key purpose of the meeting is to provide a forum for stakeholders' consultations on addressing existing implementation gaps of the SRCM Business Plan, financing, institutional capacity and agree on a detailed roadmap for implementation of the Business Plan which runs until 2017.
