PREAMBLE The Governments of: The The The The The The The The The The The The The The Republic of Angola Republic of Botswana Democratic Republic of the Congo Kingdom of Lesotho Republic of Malawi Republic of Mauritius Republic of Mozambique Republic of Namibia Republic of Seychelles Republic of South Africa Kingdom of Swaziland United Republic of Tanzania Republic of Zambia Republic of Zimbabwe CONSCIOUS of their collective duty to - achieve economic growth and balanced intra-regional development; achieve compatibility among national and regional strategies and programmes; develop policies aimed at the progressive elimination of obstacles to the free movement of capital and labour, goods and services, and of the residents of the Member States; improve economic management and performance through regional co-operation; and create appropriate institutions and mechanisms for the implementation of programmes and operations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC); RECOGNISING the need to accelerate growth, investment and employment in the SADC Region (hereinafter referred to as "the Region") through increased cooperation and coordination in respect of macroeconomic policies; CONVINCED that regional economic integration and macroeconomic stability are preconditions to sustainable economic growth and for the creation of a monetary union in the Region; DETERMINED to maximise co-operation and coordination in the implementation and management of sustainable macroeconomic policies and to reduce the divergence in macroeconomic aggregates among Member States; COMMITTED to the establishment of a dynamic, sustainable and credible regional economic entity; DEDICATED to good governance, accountable and transparent public resource management; AGREE through their duly authorised representatives, to record the understanding of Member States on the steps to be taken to coordinate and monitor macroeconomic policies of Member States, as follows: 2