INTRODUCTION

Honourable Members, distinguished resource persons, staff of represented National Parliaments, staff of the SADC PF, ladies and gentlemen.

Allow me to welcome you to Johannesburg, South Africa and to this Standing Committee Meeting. Indeed, the fact that you all accepted the invitation to be here in spite of other competing commitments is a testament of your faith in the Human and Special Development Programme and your determination to make a difference in the lives of our compatriots through it.

Allow me, also, on behalf of our entire committee and indeed on my own behalf, to thank Sweden and Norway for their belief in us. That belief is expressed through funding of our Programme. We are committed to ensuring that this Programme continues to deliver so that when it ends, it can be replicated in the other SADC Member States that are not yet implementing it.

IMPORTANCE OF STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Honourable Members, ladies and gentlemen, for us at SADC PF, Standing Committees are the engine rooms of our directorates. It is through participating in these Standing Committee meetings that we better appreciate the successes, challenges and plans of our Programme. Additionally, Standing Committee meetings enable us, as Members, to provide guidance and stewardship to our Programme at macro level. It is for these reasons that I always call for meticulous preparation so that we really achieve a lot through the interaction that these periodic platforms present. I believe very strongly that if we make it a habit to prepare thoroughly, participate actively in discussions during Standing Committee meetings and remain engaged long after our meetings, we can provide the strong leadership that would propel our Programme forward.

BUSY SCHEDULE

I have looked at the programme. It is packed. I plead for your active participation.

Our Programme has been quite busy and will be very busy, going forward. It needs our support and guidance to continue doing good work.

I will not pre-empt what we have gathered here to hear. However, I cannot defer my excitement over the fact that, after months of careful planning, our Programme will soon embark on a mid-term review. Please join me in congratulating KPMG for landing this assignment out of many equally strong candidates.

MID-TERM REVIEW

Honourable Members, ladies and gentlemen, our Programme is an action-oriented programme and we have built an enviable reputation for walking our talk.

By commissioning a mid-term review, we are sending out a message to the beneficiaries of our Programme and those funding us (Sweden and Norway) that we are also goal-oriented. This mid-term review is important in that it will measure our progress thus far. Additionally, it will tell us what we need to do more of, or differently, so that when all has been said and done, we can rest assured that we indeed made a difference.

CONCLUSION

Honourable Members, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to end my remarks by thanking all those who worked professionally, often behind the scenes, to make this meeting possible.

I wish you productive deliberations. It is now my singular honour and privilege to declare this meeting officially open.

I THANK YOU!