Itai Ndongwe
HARARE – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) says it is enhancing tax policy, modernising tax administration and deepening regulatory cooperation to improve the investment climate and accelerate progress toward a regional monetary union.
Speaking at the opening of the SADC Committee of Ministers of Finance and Investment and the Peer Review Panel, SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, Angele Makombo N’tumba, said harmonising macroeconomic policies remains the region’s immediate focus.
Other priorities include operationalising the SADC Regional Development Fund [RDF], strengthening project preparation to unlock infrastructure financing, advancing the SADC-RTGS multicurrency initiative, expanding cross-border payment systems, linking stock exchanges, expanding financial inclusion, and harmonising bank and non-bank supervision.
“The strengthening of monetary and financial sectors remains central to the long-term objective of establishing a monetary union,” she said.
The Committee and Peer Review Panel are mandated to oversee the implementation of the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment. The Protocol seeks to harmonise financial and investment policies across member states to ensure consistency with SADC objectives and prevent policy changes in one country from creating spillovers elsewhere.
The framework recognises that higher growth, investment and employment depend on greater coordination of macroeconomic, monetary and fiscal policy. “Establishing and sustaining macroeconomic stability is a fundamental precondition for sustainable economic growth and for the eventual creation of a monetary union in the Region,” Ms. N’tumba said.
Ministers are deliberating on the Macroeconomic Convergence Peer Review Mechanism and annual assessments for Eswatini, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The reviews are expected to gauge progress toward harmonised frameworks, build member state capacity for the SADC Macroeconomic Convergence Programme, and draw lessons from the Second Round of the Peer Review Mechanism.
Financial integrity was also high on the agenda. Ms. N’tumba said strengthening Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism [AML/CFT] frameworks is essential to maintaining international confidence in the region’s financial architecture.
Since June 2025, South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia have been removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list. “This progress is a clear testament to the sustained efforts of Member States to strengthen regulatory frameworks and safeguard the integrity of their financial systems,” she said, adding it should boost stability, investor confidence and investment flows.
Officials warned that a “polycrisis” driven by adverse climate conditions, geopolitical developments and disease outbreaks is threatening to undermine gains under the Finance and Investment Protocol and heighten financial and macroeconomic instability.
The impact is evident in volatile commodity prices, exchange rate pressures, supply chain disruptions and financing constraints. Inflation remains elevated in several member states even as growth weakens, while droughts and floods threaten fiscal sustainability and employment.
“As custodians of macroeconomic stability, monetary policy, and financial integrity, we face the profound challenge of making critical decisions in highly volatile and uncertain environments,” N’tumba told delegates.
She said policymakers must balance saving lives and livelihoods, securing an inclusive recovery, maintaining safety nets, ensuring public service provision, and accelerating climate adaptation without destabilising economies.
