   
  
G/SPS/GEN/2074  
 
21 October 2022 
(22-7917) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
 
SADC SECRETARIAT REPORT  ON SPS ACTIVITIES  
SADC REPORT TO THE WTO  COMMITTEE ON  SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
The follow ing communication, received on 21 October  2022, is being circulated at the request of 
the secretariat of the  Southern African Development Community  (SADC).  
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  The Southern African Development Community (SADC) region consists of 16 member States 
namely Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho , 
Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique , Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia 
and Zimbabwe. The region has a population of 345 million people and therefore has a high 
responsibility to meet the international sustainable development goals for the betterment of the lives 
of the people  through safe  intra-SADC and international trade th rough the application of relevant  
international standards.  
1.2.  Plant pests and animal diseases can inadvertently be transported along with  commodi ties 
thereby threatening the agricultural production and environment of the importing country. Food and 
feed may be contaminated with pesticide residues or other chemical toxins. To reduce these risks 
without unduly restricting regional or international tr ade in food and agro -products, the Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary (SPS) Annex to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on 
Trade allows SADC member States to adopt harmoni zed or scientifically justified SPS measures. 
This is in line with th e implementation of the requirements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) 
Agreement on the Application of SPS Measures , the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), 
the World Organi sation for Animal Health ( WOAH ) and the Codex Alimentarius Commis sion (CAC).  
2  UPDATES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPS ANNEX TO THE SADC PROTOCOL ON 
TRADE  
2.1  Harmoni zation  
2.1.  The SADC secretariat participated in Tripartite (COMESA, EAC and SADC) meeting of Regional 
Economic Communities (RECs) Experts on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and SPS held from 
2-4 September 2022 at the Imperial Golf View Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda. The objective of the meeting 
was to develop detailed guidelines on implementation of Annex VIII on TBT and Annex IX on SPS as 
mandated by the 19th meeting of the Tripartite Trade Negotiating Forum (TTNF). The meeting was 
supported by the African Development Bank through the Tripartite Capacity Building Programme. 
The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement is a major milestone in Africa's effo rts to overcome 
the challenges of small, fragmented markets and overlapping REC membership, which creates a 
spaghetti bowl of trade rules. It consolidates the Tripartite markets into a seamless free trade area.  
2.2.  The SADC secretariat participated in a writes hop for the development of an Implementation 
Plan for the Food Safety Strategy for Africa (FSSA) held in Kampala, Uganda from 22 to 26 August 
2022. The objectives of the writeshop were to: Draft implementation plan for the FSSA including 
targets and milest ones; Develop coordination mechanism for food safety activities in Africa; Develop 
a mechanism for enhancing ownership of the FSSA and buy -in by all stakeholders. The writeshop 
was sponsored by African Union.  G/SPS/GEN/2074  
 
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  2.3.  The SADC secretariat participated virtually in the Pan -African Quality Infrastructure (PAQI) 
Forum meeting held on 3 -4 October 2022 in Cairo, Egypt on a hybrid model. The Objectives of the 
meeting were, among others, to assess the progress of PAQI joint projects; to review the second 
draft action plan of the adopted Africa Quality Policy; to deliberate on PAQI cooperation with the 
AfCFTA; and to enhance collaboration with RECs.  
3  UPDATES ON EU SUPPORTED TRADE FACILITATION PROGRAMME  
3.1  The SADC -EU Trade Facilitation Programme  (TFP)  
3.1.  The Trade Facilitation Prog ramme focuses its attention on the SADC Protocols on Trade and 
Trade in Services to support implementation of the EU - SADC Economic Partnership Agreement 
(EPA). The TFP addresses regional implementation issues in the areas of: Technical Barriers to Trade  
and SPS measures; Customs technical assistance support; and the EU -SADC EPAs.  
3.2.  During the period under review, the following short -term assignment was launched : 
3.1.1   Development of Regional Mechanisms and Guidelines for Conformity Assessment 
Bodies working in th e area of intra -regional trade  
Report by: Mr. Chiluba Mwape  
SADC Key Expert on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
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