Notes for address by Dr Chris Stals, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, at a Breakfast Meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce of South Africa, Johannesburg, 1996-04-25 1. The historical backgroundBefore 1994, formal economic co-operation in Southern Africa was restricted to the Republic of South Africa (including its "Homelands"), the former British controlled countries of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, and South West Africa (now Namibia). Multinational economic co-operation was embodied in various agreements amongst the governments of these countries, for example, the Customs Union Agreement and the Common Monetary Area Agreement. Certain bilateral economic co-operation agreements, e.g. on trade, also existed with a few other countries. After the Government of National Unity was elected in April 1994, opportunities opened up for South Africa to participate in much wider regional and multinational arrangements, stretching indeed from Cape Town to Casablanca. Initially, the new situation was a bit overwhelming. There were more than fifty countries on the African continent and numerous existing regional arrangements for economic co-operation. South Africa had to find a place for itself in this maze of institutional arrangements that, at various levels and with different objectives, covered almost all aspects of economic activity.As it turned out, South Africa joined a number of these regional associations, for example, the Africa Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and the English speaking Group of countries jointly represented on the Executive Boards of the International Monetary Fund and The World Bank. South Africa also entered into negotiations with the European Commission on joining the Lomé Convention or entering into a Lomé-type of bilateral arrangement with the European Union. From the Reserve Bank's point of view, one of the most important decisions the South African Government took in this regard was to join the Southern African Develop-ment Community (SADC), which included ten other countries in the more familiar Southern African region. Mauritius subsequently joined this group and, together with South Africa, the twelve member countries now have a total population of about 125 million people and, we believe, a great potential for accelerated economic growth in the next decade. SADC is, of course, a much older institution, which was established already on 1 April 1980 in Lusaka, Zambia, with the principal objective of reducing members' external economic dependence on South Africa. The aims and objectives changed with the metamorphosis of the South African political situation in the late eighties and early nineties. A new declaration entered into in August 1992 transformed the original Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) into the new Southern African Development Community (SADC), to pave the way for the absorption of a new and fully democratic South Africa in the organisation. The objectives of the revamped organisation were now focused more directly on economic development, economic co-operation and even economic integration in the region. 2. Institutional frameworkSADC has a fairly complex institutional framework. The workforce of the organisation is very small and most of the work has been decentralised and allocated to its twelve member states. South Africa has been tasked with responsibility for the Finance and Investment Sector. The following component bodies of the institutional framework can be distinguished:Summit of Heads of State -- the ultimate policy-making body of SADC meets once a year and decides on overall policy directions, and controls the various functions of SADC. Council of Ministers -- the executive body of SADC responsible for overseeing the functioning and development of SADC objectives, and ensuring that policies are properly implemented. The Council advises the Summit on policy matters and approves SADC policies, strategies and work programmes.Sectoral Committees of Ministers -- are the operational bodies of SADC