Gaborone — Promoting manufacturing through agro-processing and mineral beneficiation activities could improve business service development, end poverty, inequality and close the significant wealth gap, says SADC executive secretary, Mr Elias Magosi.
He said this on the margins the 29th session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE) of Southern Africa, held in Gaborone from November 8-9.
Mr Magosi said the development would be a gateway for supporting SMME, where most jobs were created.
He said MSMEs would greatly benefit from the regional and continental trade agreements, adding that SADC Free Trade Area and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East Africa Community, and SADC tripartite agreements set a solid basis for the implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which formed part of the broader continental integration agenda.
"The AfCFTA has been soundly embraced by our individual member states through signing into and ratification of this continental trade agreement. Indeed, the AfCFTA gives us hope that we will reach our sustainable industrialisation goals," he said.
Notably, Mr Magosi said expanded manufacturing and deeper trading within and beyond, the continent of Africa would make a dent on poverty and inequality.
"From a SADC perspective, it has been the aim to push for regional integration including through creating and maintaining free trade that guaranteed free movement of goods, services and investments within the region."
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Mr Magosi said such free movement would support sustainable growth and development of the member states.
He said SADC's Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plans market integration was progressing in complementing SADC industrialisation, economic growth and technological innovation at national and regional levels. He said this was consistent with the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals and the AU Agenda 2063 for sustainable development.
Mr Magosi reiterated that SADC was committed to implementing all the strands that were captured in the 2023 ICSOE theme.
In doing so, he said they would continue to work with all like-minded partners to achieve socio-economic development goals and to finally end poverty and inequality across the region.
Meanwhile, COMESA Secretary General, Ms Chileshe Kapwepwe said her organisation played a vital role in charting tripartite FTA instruments adopted in the AfCFTA framework.
She said these included rules of origin, tariff liberalisation offers and the online reporting and monitoring system. She said the three pillars of the tripartite namely; market integration, infrastructure development and industrial/value chain were critical for cementing integration.
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