SADC Adopts Monetized Industrialization, Integration Action Plan

Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Summit in Mbabane, Swaziland on Saturday, March 18, 2017 (Photo Credit: South African Presidency Website)

 

By TZ Business News Staff and Agencies.  

 

Heads of State and Government from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) attending  an Extraordinary Summit in Mbabane, Swaziland  on Saturday,  March 18, 2017 have adopted a monetised Action Plan for the Implementation of the SADC industrialization Strategy.

“For the first 15 years the action plan looks at a budget of about US$112 million; now that is more on the focus on activities that have to be done at regional level,” the Zimbabwe Minister of Industry and Commerce Mike Bimha told the  Zambabwe Today Harare Bureau on Saturday night  when the Zimbabwe delegation returned home.

President Robert Mugabe joined other regional leaders for the meeting and returned back to Harare Saturday evening.  The Zimbabwe President was received at the Harare International Airport by Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko and other senior Government officials, Zimbabwe Today reported.

The day-long summit was held in fulfilment of a decision made in 2015 by the regional leaders, to make the special summit on industrialization and regional integration an annual event on the Sadc calendar.

Zimbabwe Minister of Industry and Commerce Mike Bimha

Adoption of this plan moves the region a step closer to industrialization, the Zimbabwe Minister of Industry and Commerce said.

“Just to take you back to 2015 when there was a special summit here in Harare when the Heads of State and Government approved the industrialization strategy and roadmap for Sadc; and at last year’s Sadc summit in Swaziland,  the Secretariat was tasked to look into implementation of that strategy and roadmap and also look into the costed action plan; [which in simple words, meant] coming up with a budget,” he said.

The strategy is built on three pillars – industrialization and market integration; infrastructure development; peace and security. The Summit considered a report by the Ministerial Taskforce on Regional Integration. The report, an outcome of a Ministerial Retreat seeks to assess the implementation of the Sadc integration agenda, and reflect on how Sadc is realizing its objectives.

Also on the table during the retreat was the evaluation of developments around efforts to attain the vision of Sadc since its founding as well as the challenges encountered while scrutinizing prospects for the future.

In his remarks marking the opening of the summit, Sadc chair, King Mswati III of Swaziland appealed to fellow leaders to adopt the action plan. “This Extraordinary Summit is being held to consider the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Sadc Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap (2015-2063),” he said.

Current SADC Chairman King Mswati III of Swaziland.

“The regions’ citizens are looking forward to us to create the necessary environment opportunities, and the improvement in their general standard of living. Their Excellencies will recall that in our last meeting in August 2016, we directed the Ministerial Taskforce on Regional Economic Integration to finalise the work on the Industrialisation Action Plan. We are pleased to note that Ministers have worked diligently and have come up with the work contained in the document before us today (yesterday).

King Mswati III said founding of the Sadc University of transformation remained on course and summit will be appraised on the progress during August’s ordinary session.

The proposed university, which was initially tabled during last year’s ordinary session, seeks to feed into the industrialisation agenda by becoming a hub for industrial development in the region.

King Mswati III also said despite the region declaring a regional humanitarian appeal of US$2.9 billion for humanitarian assistance in the wake of last summer season’s drought only US$979 million had been raised. [Original Story was first published by Zimbabwe Today]

Tanzania delegation to Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Summit in Mbabane, Swaziland on Saturday, March 18, 2017