The SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP 2020-2030) and SADC Vision 2050 are two strategic plans which seek to further deepen Southern Africa regional integration and foster development.
The two strategic plans were approved by the 40th Ordinary SADC Summit in Maputo, Mozambique in 2020. They are both based on a firm foundation of Peace, Security and Democratic Governance, and premised on three interrelated pillars, namely: Industrial Development and Market Integration; Infrastructure Development in support of Regional Integration; and Social and Human Capital Development.
RISDP 2020-2030 operationalises the SADC Vision 2050 which is a long-term ambition by SADC that sets out the aspirations of the Region until 2050. RISDP 2020-2030 is a successor to the previous RISDP which was a comprehensive 15-year strategic roadmap which provided the strategic direction for achieving SADC’s long-term social and economic goals.
The previous RISDP provided the SADC Secretariat and other SADC institutions with clear guidelines on SADC’s approved social and economic priorities and policies and therefore, enhanced their effectiveness in discharging their facilitating and coordinating role. It was approved by SADC Summit in 2003 and its effective implementation began in 2005.
RISDP 2020-2030 is a 10-year strategic plan and a culmination of a long and intensive process that began in June 2012, following a decision by Member States to develop SADC Vision 2050.
Both RISDP 2020-2050 and Vision 2050 provide a guiding framework for the implementation of SADC’s regional integration and developmental agenda and programmes for the next 10 years. It is the product of consultative processes involving key stakeholders from Member States, including the private sector, civil society, research institutions, and think-tanks, as well as international cooperating partners (ICPs).
RISDP 2020–2030 and Vision 2050 cover six strategic priority areas namely:
- The Foundation: Peace, Security, and Good Governance;
- Pillar I: Industrial Development and Market Integration;
- Pillar II: Infrastructure Development in Support of Regional Integration;
- Pillar III: Social and Human Capital Development;
- Cross-cutting issues including Gender, Youth, Environment and Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Management.
In each of these priority areas, the RISDP 2020-2050 and Vision 2050 provide strategic guidance in the form of actions, interventions, targets, and timelines that, if implemented and met, will further deepen integration in SADC. The RISDP 2020-2030 and Vision 2050 seek to create a peaceful, inclusive, competitive, middle- to high-income industrialised Region where all citizens enjoy sustainable economic well-being, justice, and freedom by the year 2050. By 2050, there will be a peaceful, inclusive, competitive, middle- to high-income industrialised Region, where all citizens enjoy sustainable economic well-being, justice and freedom.
