ga_th1_pb-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716-40f226593c03b9c3.pdf

This policy brief examines the operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF) to address infrastructure financing gaps in Southern Africa. It argues that the region's infrastructure deficit is primarily caused by a lack of bankable projects due to failures in early-stage project preparation and a lack of national capacity, rather than a simple lack of overall funding. The authors recommend that the RDF prioritise seed funding for project definition, pre-feasibility, and capacity building, while leveraging existing structures like the SADC Project Preparation and Development Fund (PPDF) to ensure sustainability and regional ownership.

• The infrastructure deficit in Southern Africa is primarily driven by a lack of bankable projects resulting from financing gaps in the early project development and preparation stages. For example, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) reported that in 2009 and 2010, $55 billion available for regional projects remained undisbursed due to these gaps.
• Analysis of SADC Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) projects shows significant bottlenecks at the start of the pipeline: 18% of projects are still in the project definition phase, and 87% of those have remained in that phase for over five years.
• The SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) is hindered by arbitrary project selection, often driven by political agendas rather than developmental needs, 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 exacerbated by a reliance on international cooperating partners (ICPs), whose involvement can limit national capacity development.
• Fiscal constraints across the region, including increasing public debt since 2011 and the impact of the global financial crisis, raise concerns about the ability of member states to provide the proposed $120 million in seed funding for the RDF.
• The authors recommend that the RDF should not focus on project financing, but instead prioritise early-stage activities, specifically project preparation and pre-preparation support, to create a bankable pipeline.
• To reduce costs and leverage expertise, the SADC Project Preparation and Development Fund (PPDF) should be incorporated into the RDF. Increasing member state contributions to this structure is seen as essential to reduce the perception of South African bias and ICP dominance.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (n.d.). ga_th1_pb-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716-40f226593c03b9c3.pdf. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GA_Th1_PB-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. ga_th1_pb-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716-40f226593c03b9c3.pdf. n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GA_Th1_PB-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=ga_th1_pb-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar_20180716-40f226593c03b9c3.pdf |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{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairsndgath1pbmarkowitzwentworthgrobbelaar2018071640f226593c03b9c3pdf, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{ga\_th1\_pb-markowitz-wentworth-grobbelaar\_20180716-40f226593c03b9c3.pdf}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, 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} }