About SRCM Central Africa
The Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa (RCM-Africa) is a framework for system-wide collaboration and coordination for the United Nations aiming to fast-track program implementation the continental and global priorities in Africa.
It was created following a series of resolutions by the UN General Assembly (57/2 of 16 September 2002 and 57/7 of 4 November 2002), in which the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was adopted as the framework within which the international community, including the United Nations system, should concentrate its efforts for Africa’s development, and entrusted the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) with the responsibility to coordinate United Nations system-wide support to NEPAD at the African regional and subregional levels through a special coordinating unit (RCM).
The first series of Africa-wide (regional) consultation meetings were held in 1999. By 2009, the subregional mechanism for Central Africa (SRCM-CA), was created during a meeting in Malabo. It is coordinated at three levels: (a) the annual meeting of agencies and institutions supporting the implementation of the African Union and its NEPAD program in Central Africa; (b) the network of focal points chosen by each entity and institution; and (c) an ad-hoc unit to provide a linkage between the Central African subregional office of ECA and the institution responsible for the NEPAD secretariat in Central Africa.
So far, two joint indicative programs (CIP I and CIP II), covering the periods 2010-2012 and 2013-2015, have been rolled out.; The programs covered six priority areas for cooperation, which corresponded to the priorities of the Economic Community of Central African States and the Economic and Monetary Union of Central Africa: infrastructure (transport, energy, water and hygiene); governance, peace and security; industry, trade and market access; agriculture, food security and the environment; science and technology, employment and training; and HIV/AIDS.
Building on progress made during CIP I, CIP II was supposed to cover 79 activities but only 9 had been completed, while another 36 were ongoing during a review at seventh session of the Subregional Mechanism in December 2016 in Libreville, Gabon. The low implementation rate of programs of the first two CIPs was blamed their fragmented nature and activity level design. After a period of hiatus on the ground, members of the mechanism - notably 17 UN agencies, the he Regional Economic Communities of Central Africa and development partners such as the African Development Bank – convened again in Libreville in November 2018 to prose a 3rd CIP, to cover the period 2019-2023.
The proposed new program organizes collaboration at more macro level (outcome level) around existing programs based on clearly identified commonalities at the programmatic level and champions to lead joint work. It responds to the UN Secretary General’s Reform that strings peace and security; development; and humanitarian work as mutually inclusive components for effective and efficient interventions of the UN in response to global, regional and country challenges and needs. CIP III projects fall under four main clusters, namely: structural transformation for inclusive and sustainable economic development; market access and integration in the value chain; improvement of human and social conditions; and the promotion of governance, peace and security.
Concretely, the adopted CIP-III aims at boosting diversification and economic resilience in Central Africa and doubling intra-regional trade to the tune of 5% through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by 2023.
These laser-targeted objectives should lead to better outcomes from the activities undertaken in Central Africa. The secretariat of the subregional mechanism has produced a matrix of less than a dozen solid program activities, to guarantee results.