SADC records good performance in economic, social development

by Xie Meihua

JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 12 (Chinese media) -- The Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has said recently in a news briefing the bloc has recorded good performance in economic and social development.

The remarks came as the 28th summit of SADC will be held here from Saturday to Sunday with the launch of the Free Trade Area and review of the current political and economic situation on the center stage.

SADC comprises Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In the economic front, the performance was satisfactory in 2007and prospects for 2008 are generally good, said the briefing.

Considerable progress has been made in attaining reasonable levels of economic growth in the region with economic growth remaining strong while inflation continuing to go down.

Most countries have recorded positive growth for five consecutive years, and substantial economic growth is registered in Angola with 19.8 percent, followed by Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.

However, the briefing noted that the level attained in economic growth falls short of the regional target which was set at 7 percent for 2008, according to the updates.

Real GDP increased on average by 5.9 percent in 2007, the same growth rate achieved in 2006.

The majority of the SADC member states have witnessed improvements in fiscal performance with declining fiscal deficits, which are the results of pursuing prudent fiscal policies and the initiative of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries, which are benefiting the member states, the briefing said.

The region has also witnessed substantial improvement in debt position but the current accounts of the balance of payments got worse in 2007 amid rising imports despite reasonable boost in exports.

The social front has recorded significant progress and positive development in the sectors of health, education, training, labor, employment, science, technology and innovation, according to the briefing.

In the area of health, positive results are seen in combating major communicable diseases especially HIV and AIDS, malaria and Tuberculosis thanks to measures which are put in place to increase access to preventive and curative services.

As a result, prevalence and incidence rates for HIV and AIDS and malaria has declined in certain population categories and some parts of the region.

There has been a decline in both prevalence and incidence of HIV especially among the youth aged 15 to 24 years.

In education, the bloc has continued to register increased enrolments in primary education and gender parity index. Member states are focusing on improving the quality of education at all levels as well as making reforms to promote post-primary provision.

Regarding employment and labor, SADC has continued to record positive developments particularly in combating poverty and promoting social protection.

In this regard, the briefing said, measures have been put in place to coordinate and monitor the implementation of peace deals in some member states.

Despite the good performance in economic and social development, the briefing also singled out a discouraging factor of power shortage in the region, which may pose as a threat to the economic development in the region.