The Sunday News
Prosper Ndlovu in Victoria Falls
THE Sadc Council of Ministers has come up with four key strategic areas to steer regional industrial development and increased economic growth as it moves to tackle poverty among member states.Briefing journalists on the outcome of the two-day closed door meeting, which ended on Friday night here, SADC executive secretary, Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, said ministers from the 15-member bloc made proposals on a regional industrial turnaround strategy meant to consolidate member states’ economies.
She said the ministers discussed the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RIDSP) and assessed progress in its implementation since 2005.
“The RIDSP outlined stages of integration and time lines from 2005 to 2020 as a blueprint giving direction, priorities and targets. We are implementing it but like any plan you have to undertake reviews.
“During the meeting industrialisation and liberalisation of trade attracted a lot of attention. We discussed that may be we are too ambitious and agreed to come up with focus areas to deepen integration for the benefit to our people,” said Dr Tax.
“We’ve identified four key priority areas, liberalisation and industrialisation, infrastructure development, peace and security and a special programme on education. We discussed the liberalisation of trade and noted that we cannot integrate trade without industrialisation.”
Dr Tax said the ministers noted the close link between the four strategic areas and that trade must be supported by sound infrastructure within a peaceful and stable environment.
She said the region had made tremendous strides towards embracing the free trade area approach, which has seen participating member states recording increased trade running into billions of dollars since 2000.
Dr Tax said the council directed the secretariat to finalise the RIDSP by March 2015 and ensure it prioritised industrialisation and met its intended outcomes and proposed targets.
“The council endorsed the decisions taken by the committee of ministers of trade to address some of the implementation challenges of the Free Trade Area and directed the secretariat to facilitate implementation of all pillars of the development integration agenda, in particular fast-track the co-ordination of measures of effective implementation of the SADC industrial development policy framework and the industrial upgrading and modernisation programme,” she said.
“Time is not on our side and the finalisation will go hand in hand with implementation. By March 2015 when ministers meet we will present a finalised plan and implementation strategy showing the activities to be done.”
Dr Tax said there was increased political will from member states despite limited resources, adding that the ultimate goal of the proposed intervention was to improve livelihoods in the region.
She also talked of plans to set up a regional development fund by 2020 but underscored the need to promote private sector involvement and crafting of a supporting legal instrument and capital.
Dr Tax said member states should have ownership of the proposed fund by owning a majority shares.
The meeting also discussed economic performance in the SADC and the need to boost power supplies, increased food production and natural resources beneficiation, gender development among other pertinent issues.
