Status on the funding of Southern African Development Community delegates by the SADC Secretariat and the guidelines in place to monitor the funding.

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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO: 1747         (NW1973E) 

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 19-2011

Mr LS Ngonyama (Cope) to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation:

Whether the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat funds the work of SADC delegates; if not, why not; if so, (a) what guidelines are in place to monitor this funding and (b) what does the specific budget cover?

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REPLY:

Does the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat fund the work of SADC delegates?

No. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat does not fund the work undertaken by the Secretariat in delivering on SADC’s work programme as approved by the Council of Ministers and Summit. Sources of funding is derived from the annual Member States contributions as well as funding support received from International Co-operating Partners (ICPs) including amongst others, the African Development Bank, European Union and the African Union. Annual Member States contribution distribution formulae are calculated on the basis of GDP of the respective Member States.

A SADC Council of Ministers decision taken in 2004 stipulates that the SADC Secretariat should not pay for technical and statutory or steering committee meetings unless they are able to source such funds from ICPs. Delegates from Member States attending SADC meetings are funded by their respective countries. The SADC Secretariat only pays for the Board of Auditors and Audit Committee meetings.

The SADC budget, inclusive of sources of funding from ICPs is managed by the Finance subcommittee (with South Africa as the current Chair) and presented for approval by the Council of Ministers on an annual basis.

a) What guidelines are in place to monitor this funding?

The SADC Secretariat implements the SADC Financial Regulations and Procedures and the SADC Administration Rules and Procedures in managing the budget and finances. The processes in place to monitor the budget and funding requirements are discussed during Finance Subcommittee meetings which meet usually in March, July and November annually. The SADC Secretariat is audited once a year by a group of External auditors (from Member States) appointed by the Council of Ministers.

The following are is a process which helps to implement and improve the budget and financial management operations of the SADC Secretariat.

Revised Internal Audit Charter

The current Internal Audit Charter is operational however there has been ongoing work to review and revise the policy document. The revised Internal Audit Charter is soon to be implemented and provides for compliance with Professional Standards, Authority, Organisation, Independence, Audit Scope, Audit Planning, Responsibility, Ethics and Professionalism, Continuous professional development and training, Appeals and Periodic assessment. In this regard and the SADC External Auditors, SADC Supreme Audit Institutions and Institutional Assessment Audits observed that the Internal Audit needs to be accorded a necessary platform to allow for issues of risk management and internal control to receive adequate management attention through elevating the position of the Head of Internal Audit to that of a Director.
 
b) What does the specific budget cover?

Every year the SADC Council approves the work programme, i.e. planned list of programmes and operational activities. In terms of this and SADC priorities, the budget is prioritised and distributed into various key areas in accordance with the two main objectives of SADC intervention namely regional economic integration and peace and security in the region. Regional Economic Integration is elaborated in a medium term plan: the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) while Peace and Security programmes are defined in the Strategic Indicative Plan of the SADC Organ for Politics, Defence and Security (SIPO). Various directorates at the Secretariat are responsible for the co-ordination and implementation of both the RISDP and SIPO.

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