from NJABULO MKHIZE in Durban
KwaZulu Natal Bureau
DURBAN, (CAJ News) – SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for deeper economic integration among Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states, saying the region must turn its vast natural resources, youthful population and industrial potential into growth, development and jobs.
South Africa this week assumes the SADC chairship and hosts the 46th SADC Summit in eThekwini, with Ramaphosa saying the country will prioritise practical measures to strengthen regional economic integration and build a dynamic common market.
“As South Africa takes up the chairship of SADC, we do so in the knowledge that our own prosperity is bound up with that of our neighbours,” Ramaphosa said.
He said stronger regional cooperation was becoming increasingly urgent amid growing turbulence in the global economy, with conflicts disrupting trade and pushing up the prices of fuel, grain and fertiliser.
“It is precisely at such a moment that we should be clear about what SADC means for South Africans,” Ramaphosa said, stressing that regional membership was not merely a foreign policy matter but was directly linked to employment, industrial development, infrastructure and living standards.
SADC comprises 16 countries with a combined population of nearly 400 million people. Yet, Ramaphosa said, intra-regional trade accounts for only about 20 percent of the bloc’s total trade.
“We have skills, technology, industrial capabilities and strong financial institutions. Yet, we still import much of the goods and services we need from beyond our shores,” he said.
The President highlighted critical minerals as a major example of the region’s economic challenge, noting that Southern Africa often exports raw materials and imports finished products.
“Our region holds much of the world’s critical minerals, yet we export the ore and import the battery,” Ramaphosa said. “We are supplying an industrial revolution taking place elsewhere and buying back its products at a price set by others.”
He called for stronger regional value chains, including manufacturing vehicles across borders using components and materials produced in different SADC countries.
“We need to link our economies through corridors of goods, services and industry,” Ramaphosa said, citing the Maputo, North-South, Trans-Kalahari, Beira and Lobito corridors.
He also called for expansion of the Southern African Power Pool to improve access to reliable and affordable electricity, alongside stronger cooperation on shared water resources.
Regional integration should also tackle practical barriers, including high communication and money-transfer costs, border delays and inconsistent customs procedures, he said.
Ramaphosa further placed young people at the centre of SADC’s development agenda, noting that more than half of the region’s population is under 30.
“To realise this demographic dividend, we must ensure that every young person is given the best foundation for success in life,” he said, advocating greater investment in education, healthcare, early childhood development, universities, technical and vocational colleges and research institutions.
The President said these priorities would support the implementation of SADC Vision 2050, which seeks to create an integrated, productive and prosperous region.
“It is now up to all of us to turn this aspiration into a reality, and to turn the enormous potential that our region has into growth, development and jobs,” Ramaphosa said.
– CAJ News