By: David Shoombe
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state have collectively consented that the continued dependence on external developers and partners and the export of raw materials slow down regional economic integration and rob SADC people of their heritage values.
The 46th Summit of the Heads of State and Government was hosted in South Africa under the theme: “Resilient, Sustainable and Inclusive Industrialisation through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa, the host of the Summit, affirmed the communication of the Executive Secretary, Elias Magosi, who urged the SADC leaders to start working on practical implementation of value addition.
He noted that SADC is not only a forum for meetings, but also an instrument that must be practical and aligned with our vision.
Ramaphosa noted that, while the regional transformation agenda has shown progress, the pace of transformation remains slow.
He highlighted that the region recorded economic growth of 3.5% in 2025. However, intra-SADC regional trade accounts for only 20%.
He noted that SADC has not yet fully unlocked the potential of the regional market, despite decades of regional integration. The SADC countries continue to import too many goods that could be produced within the region.
He noted that every raw material exported without beneficiation represents value that could have been added locally, creating jobs and contributing to the development of our communities.
The chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has indicated that 3 decades ago, African economic integration would be based on the economic regional bodies.
The chairperson of the African Union has indicated that the SADC regional body must make sure that it is working together with other regional economic bodies and work together to strengthen synergy in continental governance, peace, and security.
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Executive Secretary for Africa, Claver Gatete, asked, “are we going to continue exporting raw materials while others capture the high-value stages of production, or shall we become a competitive center for manufacturing innovation and value creation?”
He stated that industrialisation based on value addition to agriculture and critical minerals is an economic necessity to position Africa for the industry of the future.
Gatete states that for generations, the continent has supplied the world with raw and semi-processed materials, while other countries add value to these resources and market high-value products, limiting job creation in Africa.
The outgoing chairperson of SADC, Emmerson Mnangagwa, indicates that “the primary goals are to add value to our heritage-based resources and move away from exporting raw materials by building local processing, refining and manufacturing capacity across Southern Africa.”
He further noted the retention of value belongs to the people. He added that nations, regions, and cities are built by their own people.
