By Gideon Madzikatidze
HARARE-Zimbabwe has opened its doors to senior regional finance and health officials, with government pledging to provide a ‘practical and evidence-based’ technical foundation for SADC’s next phase of economic integration.
Speaking at the opening of the SADC Meeting of Senior Treasury Officials, Central Bank and Senior Health Officials in Harare, Chief Director in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Mr. Joseph Mverecha, said the meeting’s recommendations will directly shape ministerial decisions.
Mverecha told delegates that SADC economies are navigating inflation, public debt, climate shocks, constrained fiscal space and geopolitical uncertainty. He said the bloc’s response must be “stronger cooperation, deeper policy coordination and greater resilience.”
He flagged priority areas before officials: macroeconomic convergence, financial market integration, capital markets development, the SADC RTGS system, FDI, stock exchange interconnectivity, insurance and non-banking regulation, anti-money laundering, and operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF).
“The outcomes of our deliberations are not abstract policy issues. They are practical instruments for unlocking infrastructure, supporting industrialisation, promoting trade, attracting investment and improving the lives of our citizens,” Mverecha said.
He urged technocrats to align recommendations with SADC Vision 2050 and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030, stressing “discipline, openness and a spirit of constructive technical engagement.”
Zimbabwe, he added, is “honoured and ready to serve” as host and has a dedicated team on standby to ensure the smooth running of the engagements ahead of the Ministers of Finance and Investment and Peer Review Panel meetings.