SANF 05 No 107
The Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community says the region needs a strategy to adequately develop and use skills.
Dr Tomaz Augusto Salomão said as a priority, skills should be used to improve knowledge, research and innovation.
During his current factfinding mission to the 14 SADC member states, Dr Salomão said in Swaziland that the development of the region’s human resources is pivotal to tackling the prevailing socio-economic problems.
He also commended Zimbabwe, which has the highest literacy rate on the continent, for the job they have done in producing marketable graduates.
Dr Saloma o pointed out that for meaningful development to occur, SADC member states have to significantly increase the productivity of their people through better education, skills development and management, promoting science and technology, among other things.
The Executive Secretary added that member states should continue to work together to address food insecurity and the situation of drought which has hit the region over an extended period of time.
He linked the issue of food insecurity to HIV and AIDS, highlighting that it is not possible to prescribe anti-retroviral drugs without proper nutrition from, for example, varieties of beans and cereals, vegetables, animal protein, fruit, etc.
Dr Salomão underscored the need to improve the quality of lives of the people in SADC member states, citing infrastructure as the key to regional integration, intra-regional trade and to become more competitive internationally, in the framework of economic development and poverty reduction.
He placed emphasis on the need to fast track the implementation of a Regional Master Plan on infrastructure development.
Dr Salomão, who took up his post on 1 September, began his factfinding mission in Namibia, which is the current Chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.
Addressing the media at the end of his two-day visit to Namibia, Dr Salomao emphasised the strategic importance of the Walvis Bay Corridor and its three arms, the TransKalahari, TransCaprivi and TransCunene in facilitating regional co-operation and integration.
He added that the “SADC Secretariat is working with the Government of Namibia and the European Union to implement interventions designed to enhance safety along the corridor’s arms and also to improve the capacity of the institutions that manage the corridor.”
He also highlighted the strategic importance of the Maputo, Beira, Nacala and Dar es Salaam, Chirundu-Harare-Beitbridge corridors and the Kazungula bridge.
He then travelled to Madagascar, Swaziland, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe to ascertain their expectations and to strengthen the dialogue between the Secretariat and member states in implementing the SADC Common Agenda. He is expected to visit all the SADC Member States before year end.
Speaking to the media in the DRC, Dr Salomão called for investment in basic infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity, telecommunications, ports, and air transport to facilitate regional economic integration and development.
Turning to politics, Dr Salomão said the “region is going through an unprecedented period of peace and stability with democratic elections taking place throughout the region.”
