The Secretary for Economic and Financial Policy in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning is Botswana’s SADC National Contact Point. At the national level, the SADC National Committee (SNC) has been established to specifically provide input in the formulation of SADC policies, strategies and programmes and to coordinate and oversee the implementation of SADC programmes. The committee operates through four clusters namely; Food Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR); Trade Industry Finance and Investment; Infrastructure and Services (IS); and Social and Human Development and Special Programs (SHDSP) in line with the SADC Secretariat structure. Each directorate has a sub committee which reports to the SADC National Committee.

The Committee is chaired by the Secretary for Economic and Financial Policy and meets bi-annually. Membership to the Committee is constituted at Deputy Permanent Secretary level. It comprises of representatives from government, parastatals and the private sector and the civil society.

The Ministry participates in the two main policy meetings of SADC, namely the SADC Council of Ministers’ meeting every February and the SADC Summit in August.

This competition is an annual event which has been held ever since 1999. The main objective of the competition is to raise awareness about SADC activities and programmes among the youth in SADC Member States. It is held nationally, after which the best three national essays compete regionally. Nationally, the prize money is as follows: First prize US$ 500; second Prize US$ 300 and third prize US$ 200. Regionally the first, second and third prize awards are US$ 1500, US$ 1000 and US$ 700 respectively.

For more information on this competition please contact the SADC National Contact Point in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.

This competition is also held on an annual basis for SADC Member States. The purpose of the competition is to encourage the media to play a leading role in the dissemination of information on SADC and to recognize the works of journalists in the promotion of regional integration. The awards include Print, Radio, Television and Photo Journalism and each category carries a prize of US$2000.

For more information on this competition please contact the SADC National Media Coordinator at Botswana Government Communications and Information System (BGCIS).

The recruitment for professional positions at the SADC Secretariat is based on quota system. All SADC Member States are allocated equal number of points to compete for regional positions. At present, each Member State has been allocated 117 points. Botswana has utilized all her quota translating into 9 positions. The points are allocated as follows: Executive Secretary- 30; Deputy Executive Secretary- 23; Director-19; Senior Officer-16; and Officer-12. Once a country has exhausted its quota, its nationals are not eligible to apply for any vacant post at the Secretariat. As the host country Botswana further benefits as the support staff at the Secretariat are Batswana.

For more information on SADC Matters please visit the SADC website at www.sadc.int