Secretariat pledges support for new chair

Nyore Madzianike

THE Sadc Secretariat has pledged its commitment to work collaboratively with the new chairman, President Mnangagwa, in its quest to advance the regional bloc’s agenda.

Sadc executive secretary Mr Elias Magosi made the commitment yesterday while giving his opening remarks at the 44th Sadc Heads State and Government Summit.

President Mnangagwa assumed the chairmanship of the bloc yesterday.

“As we look ahead to the coming year, the Secretariat reaffirms its unwavering commitment to working collaboratively with the incoming chairperson of Sadc, His Excellency, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, to move the Sadc agenda forward,” said Mr Magosi.

He also said there was need to mobilise financial resources within Sadc to industrialise.

“It is evidently clear that, without adequate resources for interconnected, quality and seamless infrastructure, be it in the form of roads, railways, ports, energy or ICT (information and communication technology), our efforts to industrialise, integrate our economies and unlock the region’s full potential will stall,” he said.

“It is, therefore, imperative that as we intensify our efforts to mobilise resources, we should be deliberate and expedite the operationalisation of the Regional Development Fund (RDF), which the Sadc founders, in their wisdom, envisioned in the Sadc Treaty as a mechanism for financing programmes aimed at accelerating the economic development and growth of the region.”

Mr Magosi also highlighted the importance of attending to the needs of the youths in the context of promoting innovation, industrialisation, peace and security.

He said the region has the youngest and fastest-growing population in the world, which can drive the industrialisation agenda and spur economic growth and development.

“I would like to reiterate the need to invest in the youth by providing them with the necessary skills, resources, entrepreneurial and job opportunities, with the view to unlock their potential, thereby creating pathways for them to become agents of change and contributors of regional integration, sustainable peace, security and inclusive economic growth,” he said.

There was need, Mr Magosi said, to boost intra-regional trade within the bloc, which is being constrained by non-tariff barriers.

“It is, therefore, imperative to rededicate our collective efforts to implement measures to reduce these barriers and promote intra-regional cooperation and integration,” he said.

In his address, Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Mr Claver Gatete emphasised the need to have home-grown solutions for economic development.