Gaborone, Botswana – President Duma Gideon Boko signed two key Southern African Development Community agreements on 31 March 2026, reinforcing Botswana’s commitment to regional integration, sustainable development, and financial stability.
President Boko signed the Agreement on the Operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF) and the Agreement Amending the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment. “This dual signing reflects our determination to strengthen regional mechanisms,” he said. “We sign these two agreements with enthusiasm and trust that our fellow Member States who have not yet signed will do so.”
SADC Executive Secretary Elias M. Magosi welcomed Botswana’s action, noting that the RDF, established under Article 26A of the SADC Treaty, aims to mobilise resources for infrastructure, industrialisation, and socio-economic transformation. Since its adoption in 2016, only nine Member States had signed the RDF; with Botswana joining, it becomes the tenth. Angola, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have already deposited instruments of ratification. 
Magosi cited Africa’s annual infrastructure financing gap of over US$100 billion, with SADC responsible for about a quarter of that shortfall. The RDF is designed to pool resources, attract investment, and fund projects that can transform the region. The SADC Secretariat is working with the African Development Bank to prepare proof-of-concept projects, strengthen institutional frameworks, and develop a pipeline of bankable regional infrastructure projects.
The next steps involve setting up governance structures, policies, and procedures, while mobilising seed capital from Member States, donors, and development finance institutions.
The Protocol on Finance and Investment, also signed by President Boko, includes provisions to counter terrorism and proliferation financing in line with Financial Action Task Force recommendations. It aims to harmonise financial and investment policies across SADC and prevent destabilising policy divergence. Botswana has strengthened its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism framework, with assessments by ESAAMLG and FATF confirming compliance with most recommendations.
