Sadc Industrialisation Week priming region for AfCFTA

Oliver Kazunga

Senior Business Reporter

THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) Industrialisation Week (SIW) is expected to help lay the foundation required to prime businesses from Zimbabwe and regional partners for the higher-level competition they will face in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The AfCFTA agreement, to which Zimbabwe is a signatory, seeks to eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of goods traded among member states over 10 years.

Its objective is to foster regional economic integration and boost intra-African trade by 53 percent by next year, with the potential to create up to 30 million jobs and lift 30 million people out of poverty.

The AfCFTA, which was operationalised in January 2021, seeks, among other objectives, to streamline customs procedures, reduce bureaucracy and harmonise technical standards to ease the movement of goods across the continent’s borders.

Deliberations during the SIW, which begins today in Harare with a media awareness day, followed by an investment conference to be officially opened by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga tomorrow, will be centred on key strategies and a roadmap for industrialising all economic sectors and driving growth in the region.

President Mnangagwa is expected to officially open the SIW on Wednesday.

The SIW, which ends on Friday, will run under the theme “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development: Towards an Industrialised SADC”.

An exhibition will also be held alongside the SIW, where private sector players from across the region are expected to showcase their products and create business linkages.

In an interview last week, Industry and Commerce Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu said the Government, working with the bloc’s secretariat, the SADC Business Council and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), was ready to host the SIW and investment conference.

Over 1 350 individuals from across the 16 SADC countries — Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Seychelles and Tanzania — have registered to participate in the event.

More than 350 exhibitors and 13 officials from the SADC Secretariat have also been booked for the SIW.

“It is through the AfCFTA that opens the countries’ borders across the continent and during the SIW, we will also be dealing with issues that we believe would help us improve our competitiveness and be able as a bloc to participate in the markets across the continent,” said Minister Ndlovu.

He said the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap spoke about industrialisation and the bloc was making headway towards positioning itself to tap into markets presented by the AfCFTA.

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Mr Tapiwa Karoro weighed in.

“SADC and other regional communities are the building blocks of the AfCFTA, and this event provides a unique opportunity to align our regional industrial strategies with the broader objectives of the AfCFTA, fostering a cohesive approach to trade and economic integration,” he said.

“The conference will facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration among member states, helping to harmonise industrial policies and regulatory frameworks.”

He added: “With the AfCFTA now in implementation and some SADC countries participating in the guided trade initiative, this alignment is crucial for reducing trade barriers and ensuring a seamless flow of goods and services across borders.”

He said, by addressing common challenges that include infrastructure deficits, market access constraints, and value chain development issues, the SIW would equip member countries with the necessary tools to capitalise on the vast opportunities presented by the AfCFTA.

“The interactions and partnerships formed during the week will enhance the region’s competitive edge by promoting innovation and capacity building.

“Initiatives like the recently approved Botswana-Zimbabwe-Mozambique railway project are critical in enabling regional trade and investment, serving as foundational elements for building into the AfCFTA,” said Mr Karoro.

“By engaging with regional and international stakeholders, businesses can gain insights into best practices and emerging trends, enabling them to adapt and thrive in the continental market.

“This collective preparedness will not only boost individual country performance but also strengthen the SADC bloc’s position as a formidable player in the AfCFTA, driving sustainable economic growth and development across Africa.”

CZI president Mr Kurai Matsheza is on record saying the SADC industrialisation agenda is focused on deliberating on strategies that would industrialise all economic sectors in the region.

“In terms of industrialisation, it talks about how the economies are going to develop and obviously covers all sectors from infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing, among others.

“But the most important thing is how does that enable the economies of SADC to grow — we can industrialise but if we don’t trade between each other, it’s also of no use, so trade is quite critical,” he said in a recent interview with Zimpapers Television Network.

Though the pace at which the region was moving towards industrialisation is slow, Mr Matsheza said, notable milestones had been observed in areas such as the energy sector, where power interconnectors have been established involving South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

“Zambia and Namibia, there is an interconnector that is coming through from the Angola side and also a regional interconnector from the Tanzanian side,” he said.

“On the agro-industry side, there is the Zam-Zim Agricultural Industrial Park that has been talked about between Zimbabwe and Zambia again; that is industrialisation on the agro-side.

“There are so many initiatives that are happening, though we still have a long way to go, but we are moving towards that direction.”