Director of Ceremonies,

Honourable Ministers here present,

Your Excellencies, Heads of Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations,

Executive Secretary of SADC, Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax,

Senior SADC Government Officials,        

Chairperson of the SADC DFI Network, Mr Patrick Dlamini,

Chairperson of the SADC DFRC Board of Trustees, Mrs Annie Vidot,

Chief Executive Officer of the SADC DFRC, Mr Stuart Kufeni,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentleman,

A very good evening to you all.

1. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to you all to this important occasion which marks a significant milestone in the history of the SADC Development Finance Resource Center (DFRC).  In particular, a special welcome to those of you coming from far afield within the region and outside the region  and those who are visiting Botswana for the first time. I hope you will find your time here fulfilling, and that you will embrace the warm hospitality of our country and its people.

2. I am pleased to officiate at this occasion of the launch of the new Head Office of the DFRC here in our new central business district. My sincere congratulations to the SADC DFI Network and the DFRC for the acquisition of these premises.

3. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I have no doubt that most of you are aware of the role of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in our economies. This notwithstanding, I believe that it is very important to put the role of the DFRC and its shareholders and the SADC DFI Network, into perspective.

4. As you know, the success of an economic development strategy in achieving sustainable growth, employment generation and uplifting the living standards of our people is partly dependent on the mobilisation and availability of long – term financial resources. This presupposes the existence of an efficient and effective financial sector to intermediate resources from savings to investment and thereby facilitating the economic growth of other sectors.

5. Director of ceremony, our financial sectors, and indeed our economies, in Southern Africa are at various stages of development.  A common characteristic though has been the persistence of market gaps in availing long-term financial resources, with commercial banks providing predominantly short- to- medium term funds. It was the recognition and the need to close these gaps by governments that largely spurred the establishment of the development finance institutions as we know them today. The DFIs were mandated to provide financial support across various sectors of our economies within the framework of national development plans. Thus, since the 1970s, the DFIs have, and continue to be recognised as key development agents and catalysts in our economies.

6. The pursuit of regional economic integration and its ultimate goals of sustainable growth, employment creation and poverty alleviation under the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) brought about a regional perspective to the role of national DFIs. The SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment, the blueprint for financial sector liberalisation and integration, clearly defines the role of DFIs within the region.

7. The Finance and Investment Protocol recognises the establishment of a SADC DFI Network and its secretariat in terms of the SADC Development Finance Resource Centre. Consequently, the Network was established in 2000 while the DFRC commenced operations in July 2003. Presently, I am informed that the Network has a membership of 36 DFIs across SADC Member States, with mandates covering various economic sectors – infrastructure, industry, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), housing, and agriculture, among others.

8. The Finance and Investment Protocol highlights the primary role of the DFI Network as that of pooling resources and mobilising funds from within the region and from global capital markets for SADC development projects. In addition, the DFIs are expected to collaborate on cross-border and in-country financing of projects; share experiences and develop common best practices; strengthen and build creditworthiness of members; and capacity building.

9. To facilitate and coordinate cooperation among the DFIs, the Network established the DFRC. In this role, the DFRC undertakes capacity building, policy research, advisory services and advocacy within the development finance space to ensure that DFIs have state of the art requisite skills, institutional systems, good corporate governance structures and an enabling policy and regulatory environment. The ultimate goal is to ensure an efficient, effective and well-resourced DFI system, capable of mobilising resources at low cost for investment in our economies and the SADC region at large.

10. To this end, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am informed that since inception, the DFRC has undertaken in excess of 150 training courses involving over 4,300 staff from SADC DFIs, governments, state-owned enterprises and other development stakeholders. Its policy and advocacy activities have seen the DFRC assist DFIs with their institutional restructuring and strengthening programmes, while providing a platform for sharing experiences, knowledge and operational best practices through various fora and high level seminars. These achievements are indeed commendable.

11. The DFI Network and the DFRC, constitute an integral part of the SADC development finance system which has been evolving over the years. New structures have since emerged in response to regional development imperatives. These include the Project Preparation and Development Facility (PPDF) and the SADC PPP Network which the DFRC has been instrumental in establishing. Discussions on the establishment of the SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF) are on-going.

12. SADC Member States, expect these institutions to collaborate on project identification, preparation and development, with the objective of building a pipeline of bankable projects. This has been lacking in the region and hence the low investment levels in critical sectors such as infrastructure and industrial development.

13. SADC adopted a Regional Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap in April 2015. The strategy prioritises industrial development, as a lead sector in stimulating sustainable and inclusive growth, providing a practical framework for purposes of implementation and monitoring progress in turning SADC economies around.

14. The prioritisation of industrial development to underpin regional development and integration, underscores the role of DFIs, firstly in identifying projects, preparing and developing them for take up by investors and secondly, in mobilising the necessary funds to realise the investments.

15. The RISDP and the Industrialisation Strategy recognise the inevitable role of the private sector in providing finance and technical expertise. DFIs are therefore expected to fund projects as co-financiers and through public-private partnerships (PPPs).

16. Cognisant of its continuing role of capacitating DFIs, the DFRC in its new Five Year Strategic Plan for 2015 to 2019 has aligned its areas of focus to industrial development and infrastructure development, both priority sectors under the RISDP. This is commendable.

17. We also look forward to stepped-up interventions by the DFRC in promoting PPP as an alternative investment vehicle while providing the necessary skills to our governments and assisting with the establishment of the requisite structures such as PPP units and the development of the supporting policy and legal frameworks. Through Public-Private Dialogues, the DFRC provides a platform for the active engagement of the private sector and creates an interface for collaboration with governments.

18. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no doubt that the DFRC has a critical role to play to ensure that DFIs are ‘fit and sound’ in order to effectively deliver on their mandate. I would like to wish the DFRC and the SADC DFI Network all success in their endeavours towards the attainment of our regional integration and development goals.

19. Director of Ceremonies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, with these remarks, it is now my pleasure to declare the SADC DFRC new Head Office officially launched.

20. I thank you for your attention.