The Sunday Mail
Ambassador Joey Bimha
Sadc Heads of State and Government will review the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and come up with Southern Africa’s industrialisation strategy when they meet in Harare on April 29.
The Summit will start with the Standing Committee of Senior Officials’ meeting (April 25-26), followed by the Council of Ministers interface.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ambassador Joey Bimha said: “The forthcoming Summit is a result of a decision made by Heads of State and Government in Victoria Falls (in August 2014) regarding two issues. First, the ministers of trade and industry were told to go and look at the review of RISDP.
“It was supposed to be endorsed by the Heads of State and Government then, but it was not endorsed because there was no work which had been done in terms of strengthening the industrial pillar on the review of RISDP. RISDP is the main pillar for Sadc in terms of regional integration.”
He added: “So, member states were instructed to upgrade the industrialisation pillar. Once they did that and incorporated this into the review, then the Heads of State are supposed to consider and approve it. That becomes the programme for Sadc for the next five years. As such, we expect the Heads of State to make this approval during this Summit.
“The second thing is that in line with the theme of the Summit, which is to do with value addition and beneficiation, they have to go and work on the industrialisation strategy, which Sadc will then follow up. This work has now been done at experts’ level. It will then be taken to the Council of Ministers before it is approved by the Heads of State.”
The RISDP is a comprehensive 15-year roadmap that provides strategic direction for achieving Sadc’s long-term social and economic goals.
It aims to deepen the regional bloc’s integration agenda while accelerating poverty eradication.
The plan lists 12 priority areas where action must be taken to achieve the overarching goal of regional integration.
These priorities include trade, economic liberalisation and development, infrastructure support for regional integration, sustainable food security, and human and social development.
Others are combating HIV/Aids; promoting gender equality and development; science and technology; information communication technologies; environment and sustainable development; private sector development as well as preventing, managing and resolving conflict.
President Mugabe — the African Union and Sadc Chair — is leading Southern Africa towards realising its vision: “Sadc Strategy for Economic Transformation: Leveraging the Region’s Diverse Resources for Sustainable Economic and Social Development through Beneficiation and Value Addition”.
This theme evolved from the need for the region to derive full benefit from its vast natural resources and value addition, and it dovetails with the AU’s Agenda 2063. Most Sadc countries — like the rest of Africa — are struggling to industrialise, and the bloc — at the August 2014 Summit — noted that market liberalisation was futile without solid manufacturing capacity.
Sadc Business Forum (Zimbabwe) chief executive Mr Kingstone Kanyile said the region should value-add key resources so that it moves from being an importer to a major exporter.
“The first thing Sadc should do is identify the key resources and try to invest in them so that they can be transformed into consumable goods which are then exported.
“Sadc should also put in place rules which promote regional trade because we need countries to engage to achieve critical objectives like value-addition. That will ensure countries export more and import less.”
Economist Mr Brains Muchemwa added: “What is important at this level of discussion is that Zimbabwe should not lose out. It is really important that we re-look at the areas where we have competitive advantage and invest in them so that we also export to our neighbours.
“We have to emerge as suppliers of goods and services to the region and to the continent at large.”
