This paper discussed the two-day policy advisory group seminar with the theme : “The Implementation Gap of the Regional Integration Agenda in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)”. The meeting brought together about 30 key policymakers, academics, and civil society actors to reflect critically on the challenges of, and prospects for, regional integration in Southern Africa; and to assess the implementation gap of its policies and protocols for its 15 member states with a view to accelerating regional implementation of SADC’s policies and protocols and to identify strategies for strengthening the capacity of national partners in furtherance of regional integration. The sovereignty of the state has become increasingly challenged in regional integration spaces, with the state viewed as the centre of power around which SADC gravitates. A particular problem in Southern Africa is that the region has no mechanism to effectively deal with governance challenges. SADC needs to organise itself into an engine for the region that deals effectively with regional poverty, inequality, and unemployment.
