3 April 2026
Botswana’s President Duma Boko has signed two key Southern African Development Community (SADC) agreements aimed at making the bloc’s long‑delayed Regional Development Fund (RDF) operational and strengthening the region’s finance‑and‑investment framework.
The agreements include the instrument to operationalise the RDF – established in 2016 but still not fully functional – and an amendment to the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment. Boko said Botswana’s signing reflected its commitment to strengthening regional mechanisms and urged remaining member states to follow suit.
“We sign these two agreements with enthusiasm and trust that our fellow Member States who have not yet signed will do so,” he said.
Botswana becomes the 10th member state to sign the RDF agreement although only Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe have ratified it. The RDF was created under Article 26A of the SADC Treaty to pool resources, attract investment and finance transformative regional projects.
Its operationalisation has stalled for years due to slow member‑state uptake despite the region facing a substantial infrastructure financing gap. The next phase involves establishing governance structures, policies and procedures, and mobilising seed capital from member states, development banks and donors.
The Agreement to Amend the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment to incorporate measures aligned with Financial Action Task Force standards, including provisions to combat terrorism financing and proliferation financing. The protocol aims to harmonise financial and investment policies across the region and prevent destabilising regulatory divergence.
Botswana has made notable progress in improving its Anti‑Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism framework, with assessments by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti‑Money Laundering Group and FATF confirming compliance with most recommendations.
The SADC Secretariat said Botswana’s move represents a decisive step toward mobilising regional resources, strengthening financial governance and combating illicit financial flows. SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi said Africa’s annual shortfall exceeds US$100 billion, with the SADC region accounting for roughly a quarter of that deficit.
Magosi said the fund is intended to support infrastructure, industrialisation and socio‑economic transformation, and that the Secretariat is working with the African Development Bank to prepare proof‑of‑concept projects and strengthen institutional frameworks.
Source: https://shorturl.at/uIjOc
