OPERATIONALISING THE SADC REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND

The document argues that the SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF) should prioritise early-stage project preparation and national capacity building over direct project financing to address a critical dearth of bankable projects. It highlights that the region's infrastructure deficit is driven by bottlenecks in project definition and conceptualisation, often exacerbated by political agendas and a lack of technical expertise. The authors recommend incorporating the existing SADC Project Preparation and Development Fund (PPDF) into the RDF to leverage existing structures and shifting from reliance on international cooperating partner (ICP) funding to member state contributions to ensure regional ownership and sustainability.

• The infrastructure deficit in Southern Africa is primarily caused by a lack of bankable projects due to financing gaps in the early project development and preparation stages, rather than a simple lack of available capital. For instance, the Development Bank of Southern Africa reported that $55 billion remained undisbursed in 2009 and 2010 because of these gaps.
• Analysis of SADC PIDA infrastructure projects reveals significant bottlenecks at the earliest stages; 18% of projects are still in the project definition phase, with 87% of those having remained in that phase for over five years.
• The SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) is flawed by arbitrary project selection, overly politicised processes that hinder due diligence, and a lack of clear definitions for what constitutes a 'regional' project.
• Member states face significant capacity and coordination challenges, often lacking the technical ability to prepare projects for feasibility funding. This is compounded by a reliance on international cooperating partners (ICPs) who often manage the development process, which limits national capacity growth.
• Fiscal constraints and increasing public debt since 2011 raise concerns about the ability of member states to provide the $120 million in seed funding required for the RDF, suggesting that contributions may be skewed toward a few members.
• To ensure effectiveness, the RDF should prioritise preparation and pre-preparation support and capacity building over project finance, as the $120 million minimum seed funding is too small for regional megaprojects but could unlock future investment if used for early-stage activities.
• The authors recommend that the SADC Project Preparation and Development Fund (PPDF) be absorbed into the RDF to leverage its existing expertise and structures, while shifting from ICP funding to member state contributions to reduce perceptions of external bias and increase regional control.

APA

MARKOWITZ, C., WENTWORTH, L., & GROBBELAAR, N. (2018). OPERATIONALISING THE SADC REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GA_Th1_PB-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716.pdf

Chicago

MARKOWITZ, CHELSEA, LESLEY WENTWORTH, and NEUMA GROBBELAAR. OPERATIONALISING THE SADC REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2018. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GA_Th1_PB-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MARKOWITZ |first1=CHELSEA |last2=WENTWORTH |first2=LESLEY |last3=GROBBELAAR |first3=NEUMA |title=OPERATIONALISING THE SADC REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=July 2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GA_Th1_PB-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{markowitz2018operationalising, author = {MARKOWITZ, CHELSEA and WENTWORTH, LESLEY and GROBBELAAR, NEUMA}, title = {{OPERATIONALISING THE SADC REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GA_Th1_PB-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }