The Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF) is participating in the inaugural physical meeting of the SADC Parliamentary Forum’s Trade, Industry, Finance and Infrastructure (TIFI) Technical Working Group (TWG), taking place in Johannesburg from 18–20 March 2026. The TWG brings together parliamentarians, policy experts and practitioners to strengthen parliamentary engagement on regional economic governance — an area of critical importance for the region’s development.
The TIFI Committee was recently constituted by the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF) to provide focused parliamentary oversight and policy input across trade, industry, finance and infrastructure in the SADC region. Recognizing the complexity of that mandate, the Committee resolved that a Technical Working Group should be formed under the Secretariat. The TWG’s role is to translate the Committee’s mandate into achievable workstreams that enable Member Parliaments to exercise their constitutional responsibilities while advancing the socio‑economic needs of SADC citizens.
Over three days, the TWG will clarify roles and responsibilities for members of the newly formed TIFI Working Group, adopt a strategic annual workplan to guide parliamentary engagement, identify high‑impact regional opportunities for policy influence, and deepen participants’ understanding of SADC trade and industry protocols and their implications for national policy and legislative oversight. The meeting will also explore how parliamentary oversight and policy engagement can shape regional priorities for trade, industrial development, finance and infrastructure, and will produce actionable recommendations and next steps toward a policy brief to support evidence‑based advocacy.
SADC member states maintain extensive mutual relationships: they are signatories to SADC Protocols and Treaties, many also participate in other Regional Economic Communities (RECs), regional customs unions, free trade areas and international trade organisations. These overlapping arrangements create both opportunities and complexities for harmonised regional policy and legislation and for parliamentary scrutiny and accountability. The TWG will therefore examine how parliaments can better navigate these linkages to protect national interests while promoting deeper regional integration that benefits citizens across the SADC region.
The SAYoF delegation is being led by Tshepo Magoma, Head of the Business, Agriculture, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cluster. SAYoF’s engagement is grounded in ensuring that youth perspectives and priorities are actively considered in regional economic policymaking. The TWG is supported through resources from the Economic Justice Network of FOCCISA, which currently chairs the TIFI Committee.
