Cooperation between Botswana and European Union
The European Union first opened a Delegation office in Gaborone in 1981, at the end of the 1st Lomé Convention. Since then, operations have expanded reflecting the increasing importance of the relationship between the Union and Botswana.
The "Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part and the European Community and its Member States of the other part" was signed on 23 June 2000 in Cotonou, Bénin – hence the name " ACP-EC Partnership Agreement" or "Cotonou Agreement". This agreement was a successor of the Lomé IV Convention. It was concluded for a twenty-year period from March 2000 to February 2020, and entered into force in April 2003. It was for the first time revised in June 2005, with the revision entering into force on 1 July 2008. A second revision of the Agreement was agreed on 11th March 2010.
The content of the "Cotonou Agreement"
The Cotonou Agreement is a global agreement, introducing important changes and ambitious objectives while preserving the 'acquis' of 25 years of ACP-EC cooperation. Compared to preceding agreements and conventions shaping EC's development cooperation, the Cotonou Agreement represents further progress in a number of aspects. It is designed to establish a comprehensive partnership, based on three complementary pillars:
· Development cooperation,
· Economic and trade cooperation, and
· The political dimension.
The objectives of the Cotonou Agreement
The partnership is centred on the objective of reducing and eventually eradicating poverty consistent with the objectives of sustainable development and the gradual integration of the ACP countries into the world economy.
The fundamental principles of the Cotonou Agreement
· Equality of the partners and ownership of the development strategies;
· Participation (central governments as the main partners, partnership open to different kinds of other actors)
· Pivotal role of dialogue and the fulfilment of mutual obligations
· Differentiation and regionalisation
The actors of the Cotonou Agreement
The actors of cooperation are:
· States (authorities and/or organisations of states at local, national and regional level);
· Non-state actors (private sector; economic and social partners, including trade union organisations, civil society in all its forms according to national characteristics).
The implementation of the Cotonou Agreement
The European Development Fund (EDF) is the main instrument for providing Community assistance for development cooperation under the Cotonou Agreement. The EDF is funded by the EU Member State on the basis of specific contribution keys. Each EDF is concluded for a multi-annual period. It generally has a life-span of at least five years and is accompanied by new financial resources, strategies and priorities to improve sustainable aid development. For example, First EDF: 1959-1964; Second EDF: 1964-1970 (Yaoundé I Convention); Third EDF: 1970-1975 (Yaoundé II Convention); Fourth EDF: 1975-1980 (Lomé I Convention); Fifth EDF: 1980-1985 (Lomé II Convention); Sixth EDF: 1985-1990 (Lomé III Convention); Seventh EDF: 1990-1995 (Lomé IV Convention); Eighth EDF: 1995-2000 (Lomé IV Convention and the revised Lomé IV); Ninth EDF: 2000-2007 (Cotonou Agreement); Tenth EDF: 2008-2013 (Revised Cotonou Agreement) and Eleventh EDF : 2014 – 2020 ( Revised Cotonou Agreement).
The cooperation with the ACP States funded from the EDF is complemented by development cooperation funded from the EC budget, through budgetary instruments - the Development Cooperation Instrument, the Instrument for Stability, the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights and the European Humanitarian Aid Instrument.
The EDF National Authorizing Officer (NAO) for Botswana is the Permanent Secretary (PS), Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. The PS delegated this authority to the Secretary for Development and Budget (SDB). The NAO represents Botswana in all the activities of the Botswana -EU cooperation funded with European Development Fund.
Role of the NAO
His role results from the Cotonou partnership agreements, which are the framework of Botswana-EU cooperation. This role includes a great number of tasks carried out in close coordination with the Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Botswana:
· Planning of European assistance,
· Identifying and designing community interventions,
· Follow-up and implementation,
· Assessment and audit.
EDF Funds for Botswana are jointly managed by the European Union (principally through its Delegation in Gaborone since devolution in 2004) and the Government of Botswana (EDF National Authorising Officer in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning).
The funds earmarked for Botswana over time are presented below:
EDF 6: 30 million Euro (including transfers from EDF 4&5) – approximately P300 million
EDF 7: 85 million Euro - approximately P850 million
EDF 8: 71 million Euro – approximately P710 million
EDF 9: 65 million Euro – approximately P650 million
EDF 10: 116 million Euro – approximately P1160 million
EDF 11: 33 million Euro – approximately P330 million
The focal sectors supported by the European Union up to the 8th EDF were private sector development, related technical education and training and natural resource utilisation and conservation. The focal sectors of the 9th and 10th EDF are human resource development, HIV and AIDS prevention and support to Non-State Actors. The focal sectors for 11th EDF are Education and Public Sector Reform.
For more information please contact:
Ministry of Finance and Development Planning
Director, Development Programmes
Private Bag 008
Government Enclave
Khama Crescent
Block 25
State Drive
Gaborone
Botswana
Tel (+267) 3950353
Fax (+267) 3972750
Email. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.