by Kizito Sikuka in Gaborone, Botswana – SANF 15 no 38
There is need for southern Africa to broaden its industrial and economic bases to promote sustainable socio-economic growth in the region.
This was said by the incoming SADC Council chairperson, Kenneth Matambo at the opening ceremony of the SADC Council, which meets prior to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit that opens on 17-18 August in Gaborone, Botswana.
He said diversification of the economy will allow the region to create employment for its citizens, as well as “intensify the fight against poverty.”
With SADC and the rest of the world slowly emerging from the 2008/09 global financial economic downturn, industrial and economic diversification by SADC member states will serve as a buffer against any external financial shocks.
A study by the SADC Ministerial Task Force on Regional Economic Integration has revealed that most countries greatly depend on the primary sector for development and are, therefore, susceptible to external financial shocks, hindering sustainable socio-economic development.
For example, countries whose economies relied heavily on the mining sector during the global crisis of 2008/09 were badly affected.
However, those that diversified into other sectors such as fisheries and manufacturing were not as badly affected.
“There is an urgent need for SADC countries to broaden their industrial and economic bases in order to create employment and intensify the fight against poverty,” said Matambo, who is also the Finance and Development Planning Minister of Botswana.
“The adoption of the SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap in March is therefore, a welcome move to catalyze regional cooperation and integration to ensure that we move ahead in unison as a region.”
The industrialisation strategy and roadmap is anchored on three pillars, “Industrialisation, Competitiveness and Regional Integration.”
It covers the period 2015-2063, and aims to provide the framework for major economic and technological transformations at the national and regional levels within the context of deepening regional integration.
During the period 2015-2020, SADC will strive to progress from being factor-driven to being investment-driven.
From 2021-2050, the region will aim to advance to being an innovation-driven economy, while the period 2051-2063, the target for SADC is to achieve high levels of economic growth, competitiveness, incomes and employment.
While there is no one-size-fits-all prescription, the strategy and roadmap proposes a wide range of industrial policy options that are available to the SADC region.
One of the options is the adoption of Special Economic Zones. Another possibility is the promotion of domestic, regional and global value chains as one of the interventions that should be pursued by SADC in its efforts to industrialise.
The strategy also advocates for diversification of the economy so that countries in the region do not depend heavily on one sector.
One country that offers a best example of successful diversification is Brazil. The South American country has been for many years the world’s largest producer of coffee.
Since the 1990s, however, coffee is no longer central to the Brazilian economy. The country diversified into other areas including manufactured goods, propelling its economy to become the tenth largest in the world.
In the SADC region, countries such as Mauritius have also achieved sustained growth through a diversified economy that relies on tourism, textiles, sugarcane and a steadily developing manufacturing base.
Matambo also urged SADC member states to fully implement all regional agreed programmes to ensure that the general socio-economic conditions are improved.
“Let us move with speed to effectively implement all the policies that are critical for the region’s growth and development,” he said, adding that countries must also fully implement all protocols that have been ratified.
A total of 27 protocols have been signed by SADC member states. Of these, 24 have been ratified.
Matambo took over the rotating SADC Council chair from Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs Minister, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi.
Mumbengegwi said deeper cooperation among all SADC member states will enable the region to address its challenges and foster socio-economic development for its citizens.
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”.
At the summit, President Seretse Khama Ian Khama of Botswana will assume the rotating SADC chair from his Zimbabwean counterpart, President Robert Mugabe.sardc.net
