SANF 24 no 28 by SARDC Writers
Southern Africa cannot be left behind by the fast-changing technological developments and needs to adopt strategies to harness the potential of innovation to produce goods and services through value addition and beneficiation of its rich mineral and natural resources.
The incoming Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, said this when he accepted the leadership of the regional body from the President of Angola, João Lourenço during the summit hosted by Zimbabwe on SADC Day, 17 August.
Mnangagwa said SADC should adopt measures that would position the region among the main proponents of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Our SADC bloc cannot afford to fall behind in the new and fast changing frontier of science, technology and innovation. These aspects are a pre-requisite for increased productivity and indeed the bedrock upon which other parts of the world industrialised and developed,” Mnangagwa said.
SADC has since 2014 prioritised industrial development as it aims to move its economy from being factor-driven to efficiency driven.
The SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063, adopted in 2015 at an extraordinary summit in Harare, aims to facilitate a major economic and technological transformation at national and regional levels in the context of regional integration.
The strategy outlines several essential elements for industrialisation. These include technological upgrading and innovation as enablers and creators of employment and competitiveness, as well as recognition of the impact of the emerging patterns of global technology and trade.
Mnangagwa said the theme of the 44th SADC Summit, “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised SADC”, emphasises the role of innovation in sustained economic transformation and development.
“It is a clarion call for our respective countries to leverage the region’s human capital, to spur technology and innovation that will leap-frog the modernisation and industrialisation of SADC towards a higher quality of life of our citizens.”
He called for “purposeful” collaboration among member states to bridge the digital divide between the region and industrialised nations.
“Our institutions of higher learning, the academia, scientists and innovators must equally strengthen linkages to further drive the innovation, modernisation and industrialisation of our region,” the incoming SADC chairperson said.
He cited the case of Zimbabwe, which has set up innovation hubs at all state universities and other institutions of higher learning.
The hubs have achieved success “in developing a sense of self-belief, skills and competencies.”
“Further, initiatives under the programmes have transformed livelihoods, communities and the economy as a whole, through the production of appropriate goods and services.”
Southern Africa is moving towards establishing a university that would focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.
The proposed SADC University of Transformation is the initiative of King Mswati III of Eswatini and was approved at the 38th SADC Summit, during which it was agreed that the institution should be virtual.
In addition to supporting industrialisation, the university is expected to advance the rollout of other regional integration initiatives.
For example, SADC is considering strategies to embrace the “blue economy” concept that sees oceans as “development spaces” where coordinated planning integrates conservation, sustainable use, oil and mineral wealth extraction, and marine transport.
Nine SADC Member States are coastal or oceanic states – Angola, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa and United Republic of Tanzania. Democratic Republic of Congo is normally counted as a coastal state as it has almost 40 kilometres of Atlantic coast, thus 10 of the 16 member states are directly impacted by the blue economy.
Mnangagwa called on SADC member states to be unapologetic about its chosen path towards regaining control of its economic resources.
“Ultimately, the burden and responsibility to build our countries and the region as a whole, for sustainable prosperity, lies with us, the great peoples of SADC,” he said, adding, “In Zimbabwe our development philosophy is that “a Country is built, governed and prayed for by its people.”
Likewise, the SADC region would only be modernised and industrialised “by its own citizens, through our individual and collective efforts.”
“Those who seek to help us are welcome. However, they must do so on our terms, guided by our priorities and respecting our sovereignty.”
Zimbabwe, which took over the SADC leadership from Angola during the 44th SADC Summit, is expected to champion the regional integration agenda until the next summit in August 2025. sardc.net
