Partnering with the private sector will unlock avenues that southern African governments alone cannot attain, says President Jacob Zuma.
“The diversification of our economies and industrialisation will ultimately put the region on its rightful path as a global economic player,” said President Jacob Zuma, who is also the chair of the SADC regional bloc, on Tuesday.
Tshwane assumed the chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in August, with its tenure theme being ‘Partnering with the private sector in developing industry and regional value-chains’.
Through this theme, Tshwane seeks to build momentum and continuity in the collective aspiration towards regional sustainable economic development and industrialisation.
As such, it has identified key activities which will be the development of a high impact Annual Operation Plan, with targeted interventions and public policy tools to foster the development of regional value-chains in agro-processing, pharmaceuticals and mineral beneficiation.
Another issue the region needs to address is connectivity in information, technology, and communications. President Zuma said this must be addressed for the region to benefit from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where industries are dominated by high-tech ICT.
In the SADC region -- which consists of 15 countries with a population of 300 million people -- only 16.3% of the population is using the internet, compared to a penetration of 47% globally.
The regional bloc is of the view that improved infrastructure can help to address socio-economic issues, ensure a better quality of life, boost regional economic integration, bridge the inequality gap and aid industrialisation efforts.
“Connectivity will ensure the attainment of the goals for regional economic integration, poverty alleviation and industrialisation,” President Zuma said.
