by Kizito Sikuka in Gaborone, Botswana – SANF 15 no 43
The 35th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community got underway in Gaborone, Botswana on 17 August with incoming chair, President Seretse Khama Ian Khama of Botswana, calling for improved economic cooperation within the region.
Although steady progress has been realized by SADC in boosting intra-regional trade, imbalances still exist within the region as the majority of southern African countries continue to trade more with the outside world instead of among themselves.
This has been attributed to various factors including poor infrastructure and imposition of non-tariff barriers by African countries.
Another major factor is the lack of a vibrant industrialization base that transforms African countries from being sources of cheap raw materials into producers of finished products.
Speaking soon after taking over the SADC chair from his Zimbabwean counterpart President Robert Mugabe, Khama said it was time southern Africa addressed the situation to ensure the region benefits from its own resources.
“The current trade imbalances within the SADC region are reason enough for us to expedite and jump-start efforts towards industrial development, particularly with regard to the creation of value-chains,” Khama said.
He urged the more advanced economies within the region to assist those that are least developed and small “to leverage on them (and) to also increase their productive capacities.”
Such cooperation among SADC countries, he said, “will lead to jobs being created and thus reducing labour mobility and concentration in one or two economies in the region.”
SADC this year adopted an Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap to leverage on its vast natural resources endowment and ensure that the region gets maximum benefits from these to improve the livelihood of its citizens.
Khama said while the strategy had “reshaped the pace and course of our region in our quest to maximize beneficiation of our natural resources as a way of creating a better life our people,” it was critical for the region to fully implement the measures proposed in the strategy to ensure the industrialization blueprint is a success.
“It is, therefore, my sincere hope that through our deliberations going forward, we will be able to come up with decisions which will guide and direct our officials towards actualising the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap.”
Adopted by the SADC Extra-Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Harare, Zimbabwe in April, the Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap aims at accelerating the momentum towards strengthening the comparative and competitive advantages of economies of the region.
It is anchored on three pillars, industrialization, competitiveness and regional integration
Khama said is it equally important to continue scaling-up the implementation of regional infrastructure, given that it is a “a key enabler to economic integration and development, and more importantly, in support of our industrialisation effort”
“We should, therefore, redouble our efforts towards accelerating implementation of power generation and transmission projects as the regional economy is virtually on its knees owing to incessant power outages that continue to disrupt economic activities and adversely impact on the quality of lives of our people,” he said.
With regard to food security, there is need for SADC to boost agricultural development including agro-processing since the sector is one of the component of the industrialization programme.
On the recent launch of Tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA) involving the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, East African Community and SADC, he said the region should take advantage of the enlarged market to boost trade among other African countries.
The Tripartite FTA, which creates a combined population of some 600 million people covering half of the member states of the African Union (AU) and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about US$1 trillion, aims to promote the smooth movement of goods and services across borders, as well as allowing member countries to harmonize regional trade policies to promote equal competition.
“This (launch of the Tripartite FTA) is indeed a milestone achievement in our endeavor to increase trade among African states,” he said, adding that “it is quite disheartening that there is negligible trade between and among African states,” because most African countries “are primarily suppliers of raw materials with very few industrialized nations among us.”
Khama said despite the challenges, SADC and the rest of the African continent has the capacity to address these challenges, particularly if all countries remain united and committed to the goals of advancing regional integration.
“I wish to call for our collective efforts in ensuring that we are successful in our endeavours to transform the SADC region into a better place, envied throughout the world as a beacon for political stability and economic prosperity,” he said.
“As such, I take this opportunity to encourage all of us to be part of the journey towards ensuring that SADC successfully delivers on its mandate.”
Outgoing SADC chair, President Robert Mugabe concurred, saying countries in the region can achieve more by working together rather than in isolation.
He urged SADC member states to implement all regional decisions, including the Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap and the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2015-2020 to advance the integration agenda.
“Let us now work assiduously towards the early and speedy implementation of these regional programmes and activities,” he said.
The Revised RISDP is a five-year plan that guides the implementation of all SADC programmes from 2015-2020.
The 35th SADC Summit is running under the theme, “Accelerating Industrialization of SADC Economies, Through Transformation of Natural Endowment and Improved Human Capital.”
The theme continues the trajectory of the previous Summit held last year in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, which focused on economic transformation and sustainable development “through beneficiation and value addition”. sardc.net
