. other projects include the introduction of automated trading into all sadc exchanges, electronic clearing and settlement as well as education and training. on the development of bond markets, agreement was reached that trading in equities and bonds should be accommodated on the same exchange rather than that new bond exchanges be established. it was also decided that stock exchanges that wished to implement bond listings requirements would use the new listings requirements of the south african bond exchange. the south african bond exchange has submitted a proposal for the establishment of a centralised debt securities market for the region. the proposal argued against allowing the development of separate licensed bond exchanges and was in favour of building on existing infrastructure. the committee of central bank governors has studied the characteristics of money markets in individual states, but no decision has yet been taken on further development of money markets. a sadc banking association was established in july last year aimed at encouraging member states to implement internationally accepted banking standards and uniformity of banking legislation. the south african banking council is a member of the association which is chaired at present by malawi. 8. conclusion from my report - back to you today on the work of the sadc committee of central bank governors it should hopefully be clear that the vision of full economic integration, with free and unfettered movement of goods and capital, is still a long way off. however, slowly but surely we are laying the foundation for a robust regional economic bloc. the central banks of the region are working together to put in place a common financial architecture which can form the basis of closer economic integration. before full economic integration can be attained, we need to have sound financial systems that can withstand sudden international shocks and which can accommodate increased economic activity. we need efficient and coordinated financial markets and reliable and compatible clearing and settlement arrangements between our countries. the sadc finance and investment sector is convinced that it has already laid the foundation for macroeconomic convergence and integration. as the new chairperson of the sadc committee of central bank governors, i will make every effort to ensure that we continue with the construction of a strong financial infrastructure for the region, so that globalisation can work to the advantage of the southern african region. in conclusion, i would like to express the hope that the region will have confidence in its ability to make globalisation work in its favour. to illustrate this point, i would like to quote from a speech made last year by president thabo mbeki, in which he talked of an african renaissance and about the weight that past enslave

such as trade, industrial and fiscal policies and political factors too. 2. south africa prepares to open its markets compared with other regional groupings, the idea of a european union - like economic union is still some way off for the sadc, although progress is being made towards implementing a free trade agreement. a target implementation date has been set for january next year to begin the process of lowering trade barriers, streamlining customs and border procedures, and harmonising external tariffs. sadc trade and industry ministers are due to meet soon for negotiations on the trade protocol in the run - up to the start of implementation next year. there have been suggestions that south africa might extend market access concessions on a unilateral basis after certain key agreements have been reached. we understand that south africa plans to eliminate most duties on imported goods from other sadc countries by 2004 and the region could ultimately develop into a free trade zone. the free trade discussions and negotiations have received some attention in the media. generally speaking, it seems that people welcome the progress made by the sadc as a sign that it is finally getting down to business. also in the development programmes are infrastructure developments in the region, such as the maputo corridor which has spurred investments into various economic sectors estimated at r35bn. one example of a big investment is the mozal aluminium smelter, which has triggered the renewal of the maputo harbour. a very welcome development indeed. far less immediately newsworthy, but also very important for the establishment of a regional economic bloc, has been the work done by the committee of central bank governors. the work is an important building block towards the creation of a free trade zone. one cannot implement free trade in goods and services without having the proper financial systems in place ; the work of the committee of central bank governors can be seen as providing the oil that makes the wheels of commerce turn faster in the region. the implementation of a free trade agreement is made easier if national payments systems function properly and are compatible with individual states in the region. in addition, investors who want to take advantage of the liberalisation of trade will feel more comfortable if there is a high and uniform standard of bank supervision ; in other words, legal familiarity, certainty and a good sense of a stable, well regulated and properly supervised banking system. similarly, investors and potential business partners usually want easy access to reliable basic macroeconomic information of countries in the region. for goods to flow smoothly across borders, it is also important that capital