Held in Gaborone, one the 24^TH April 2013

The meeting was organized and funded by GIZ, the German donor agency.

The objective was to agree on how the private sector regional associations could best interact with SADC.

This was because some associations did not have good working relationships with SADC.  This was not the case with FESARTA.

Earlier meetings had recommended that a Private Sector Council be established at SADC.

7 regional associations attended (ASCI, FCFASA, MIASA, RETOSA, SACAU, SAIIA and FESARTA).  Only FESARTA’s sphere of operations extended to East Africa.

The meeting agreed the following:

• The establishment of a Private Sector Council at SADC may not have been necessary; especially as the private sector would eventually have to fund it, and these funds may not be forthcoming.  Instead, a steering committee comprising the regional private sector associations, would be set up.
• Oswell Binha, president of ASCI, agreed to be the interim chairman of the committee, until the next meeting.
• The proposal for the future was that the chairman should have a person in one of his/her company offices, and an administrator for the committee would be appointed to staff that office.
• This administrator would be funded by contributions from members, with initial support from GIZ.
• GIZ would draw up a draft letter of intent to this effect; to be circulated to members to give input and finalize.  It was to be drawn up by the 29^th April.
• Members were to sign the finalized letter of intent.
• The next meeting, to formally constitute the committee, would be on 10^th-14^th June, in Harare or Johannesburg

 

Barney Curtis.