Your Excellencies, you will recall that during your brainstorming session on the Up-scaling of the Implementation of Infrastructure in the Region at the Lusaka Summit held in August 2007, you directed Council to oversee the development of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), which would constitute the Infrastructure Development Blueprint for our region. Pursuant to your wise counsel, and following the successful mobilisation of resources from our partners, the process of developing the RIDMP commenced in earnest in 2011. The process was characterised by a broad-based consultative process in which Member States were central in elaborating the infrastructure projects, supported by all our key stakeholders and the private sector. I wish to commend the technical experts, senior officials and our ministers for taking the development of the RIDMP through a painstaking, but necessary, process to ensure that it reached a watershed, namely a stage where Member States can start implementing infrastructure in a systematic and holistic manner, guided by agreed priorities within the Plan. SADC maintains its practice regarding emphasis on development of infrastructure, for which it has been renowned over the years. The delivery of the RIDMP ushers a new opportunity to up-scale this process, for which we need to create the necessary enabling environment for investment in this area. Our priority, as a Community of States, remains the deepening of our regional integration and addressing our overarching objective of poverty reduction. There is no doubt that the provision of infrastructure provides a launch pad for these interventions. The RIDMP is aligned to the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, as well as the COMESA-EAC-SADC Inter-Regional Infrastructure Master Plan, and no doubt lays a foundation for the development of the African Economic Community, as espoused by the Lagos Plan of Action and the Abuja Treaty. Implementation of the RIDMP will enable us to consolidate the SADC Free Trade Area, the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Grand Free Trade Area, as we march towards the total integration of Africa, guided by the ideals of our founding fathers, whose legacy remains unparalleled. FROM THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY’S DESK I am confident that, through your distinguished leadership, you will continue to guide this region to unprecedented success, especially on the implementation of infrastructure. The fact that SADC has successfully implemented infrastructure is no longer an issue for debate, the issue at stake is how can we up-scale the delivery of world-class infrastructure to our people in the region and in Africa as a whole. It is critical, as we seek to accelerate our infrastructure programme, that we seriously address transit facilitation for our six landlocked countries, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in order for those countries to enjoy realistic, competitive prices for landed products as well as exports to global markets. There can be no doubt that any meaningful implementation of the RIDMP should accord priority to addressing power shortfalls in the region, through the development and commissioning of requisite power generation and transmission infrastructure, as main concerns of the priority. The interconnection of Angola, Malawi and the United Republic of Tanzania is necessary to enable the migration of these Member States to Operating Members of the Southern African Power Pool. Let me underscore the strategic importance of resources for the implementation of infrastructure. First, it is critical that resources be allocated for project preparation through the SADC Project Preparation and Development Facility (PPDF), as well as for investment through, among others, the SADC Development Fund. We are looking forward to make available bankable projects which the region would seek to promote among investors. Going forward, our ministers have put in place the appropriate institutional mechanisms to oversee the implementation of infrastructure, supported by the Plan of Action. The role of Member States in leading this process is pivotal, with the SADC Secretariat central to the coordination of and reporting on the process. I have no doubt, Your Excellencies, that this process is doable, let’s go for it! Tomáz Augusto Salomão Executive Secretary Executive Summary 3