SANF 16 no. 42
A positive and inspiring trend is emerging in the integration agenda of southern Africa.
Outgoing chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), President Seretse Khama Ian Khama said this on 30 August at the 36th SADC Summit in Mbabane, the Kingdom of Swaziland.
He said the region has over the past three years shown a strong political will to promote industrialisation to ensure that member states harness the full potential of their vast and diverse resources.
For example, three successive summits have ran under a similar theme on advancing industrialization. In fact, this is the first time in the history of SADC that a related theme has been adopted by each summit.
Starting with the summit held in Zimbabwe in 2014, the region agreed to focus on promoting industrialization through “Beneficiation and Value Addition.”
This was in light of the fact that countries in SADC get very little in return from their resources that include minerals such as gold and diamonds since most of the value-addition and beneficiation is taking place outside the region.
The 2015 Summit held in Botswana looked at harnessing industrialization through “Transformation of Natural Endowment and Improved Human Capital.”
This year, Swaziland has decided to focus on promoting industrialization through “Resource Mobilisation for Investment in Sustainable Energy Infrastructure.”
Khama said such like-mindedness among countrieswas critical in boosting cooperation towards pushing the industrialization and integration agenda of SADC.
“It is encouraging to note that efforts towards the region’s new process of industrialisation continues to gain momentum,” Khama said, adding that a costed action plan of the SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap will be finalized ahead of an extraordinary summit scheduled for early 2017.
The costed action plan seeks to establish a coherent and synergistic implementation scheme containing strategic options and general policies towards the progressive attainment of time-bound targets set out in the strategy and roadmap.
The plan will focus on the first 15 years of the strategy timeframe, and aims to create an enabling environment for sustaining industrial development as a driver of economic transformation; and establish an enduring alliance for industrialisation consisting of the public and private sectors as well as strategic partners.
“I hope that, with its adoption by SADC Council at its next meeting in March 2017, the specific actions towards implementation of agreed interventions will accelerate industrialisation in our region, as well as prosperity and welfare of our people.”
The SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap that was adopted by an extraordinary summit in April 2015 in Zimbabwe aims at accelerating the growing momentum towards strengthening the comparative and competitive advantages of the economies of the region, and is anchored on three pillars of industrialization, competitiveness and regional integration.
On the food security situation in the region, Khama said SADC should continue to work together in ensuring that cereal demand and supply are met.
According to the SADC Secretariat, the region recorded an overall cereal deficit of 9.3 million tonnes for the 2016/17 marketing year, with only one country – Zambia — recording a cereal surplus.
The poor season has been due to low rainfall, mainly caused by the strongest El Niño weather phenomenon ever in southern Africa. The current El Niño-induced drought in SADC is the worst in 35 years.
“It is, therefore, critical that the region should rise to the occasion and institute the necessary mitigation and recovery measures,” he said.
Khama said it is pleasing to also note that most countries are working together “in coordinating the systems and institutional requirements for an effective importation and distribution programme of food and non-food commodities.”
With regard to political, defence and security cooperation, Khama said the region must maintain stability as peace is pivotal to sustainable development.
He paid tribute to the people of Seychelles, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia for having held successful elections in the past year.
However, he called for more efforts to promote tolerance among political parties so that incidences of violence are reduced.
During his tenure, President Khama has been at the forefront of pushing the regional integration agenda of SADC.
Some of his achievementshe recorded as SADC chair include the hosting of three key workshops to deal with deteriorating access to water and energy supplies in SADC, as well as food insecurity, and escalating poaching of wildlife.
At the three workshops, declarations were made and these will be presented to the 36th SADC Summit for approval after being endorsed by the Council of Ministers that met 26-27 August.
The 36th SADC Summit set for 30-31 August is running under the “Resource Mobilisation for Investment in Sustainable Energy Infrastructure for an Inclusive SADC Industrialisation for the Prosperity of the Region.”sardc.net
