There is a widely agreed need to further strengthen economic policy and management capacity in the Region, supported by numerous studies and reports by international organizations, including NEPAD and the World Bank. The RMCE provides the only coordinated centre for regional-level training and advisory services in regional economic integration in Central-Southern Africa. Secondly, by centralizing knowledge and expertise the RMCE intends to become an authority on the complex strategy and evolution of the RECs, issuing analyses and advisory reports at top level to REC secretariats and Government departments on key integration concerns and strategies. Further, the Centre complements rather than duplicates other capacity by outsourcing to other existing institutions and will only add to that expertise through its own in-house capacity. In future RMCE could take over existing training activities on an organized basis from Regional Economic Communities, thus relieving them of the burden of organizing training, while allowing them to concentrate on policy matters.
Cost-effectiveness is an equally important consideration. This is supported first of all through the unified, focused theme of Regional Economic Integration which will help improve the Centre’s effectiveness as a capacity builder. Secondly costs will be kept down through the use of existing space, a small staff, and collaboration with other existing institutions that provide appropriate skills. Financial sustainability will be enhanced to the extent that the private sector accesses the centre. Training will concentrate on senior professional upgrading with a relatively rapid payoff in terms of capacity improvement.