President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday launched the Fifth Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Industrialisation Week with a call for member States to avoid becoming dumping grounds for products from other nations.
Launching the week as Sadc chairperson at the Bingu International Convention Centre (Bicc) in Lilongwe in the presence of Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, the President warned that if Malawi and the entire Sadc do not industrialise, the economies will not grow and will continue to play second fiddle to other nations that are advancing through industrialisation.
He said: “For us Malawians, this is simply unacceptable. That is why when we developed the Malawi 2063 Agenda, which is our blue-print for development in the next 42 years, we put industrialisation as one of the three pillars for becoming an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant upper middle-income country.”
Chakwera said since the MW2063 aligns with the Sadc Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap, it will greatly contribute to a shared regional integration agenda.
In his statement, Nyusi, who is the immediate-past chairperson of Sadc, called for enhanced collaboration between State and non-State actors, especially the private sector, to champion the industrialisation drive in the Sadc region for shared growth.
He said: “I have been here in Malawi over the years, 20 years ago, I visited this country when I was managing Nacala Corridor project. It was about how to move tobacco from Malawi to Mozambique using rail and moving maize from Zambia to Mozambique. So, I am glad that today I am here as Head of State for my country and this is like my home.”
Nyusi said industrialisation is key for economic development and hailed Sadc for bringing together member States, especially the private sector to participate in brainstorming how best to achieve desirable industrialised economies in the region.
Minister of Industry Roy Kachale said it is undisputed that industrialisation plays a vital role in economic development.
He said the world’s developed countries broke the vicious cycle of poverty by industrialising instead of just focusing solely on agriculture and/or the production of primary commodities and natural resources.
Speaking on behalf of the Sadc Business Council, Madalitso Kazembe said they are working on improving the business environment amid the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.
She said this is being done through resolving non-tariff trade barriers by working with business associations in collaboration with the Sadc Secretariat.
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa director responsible for southern Africa, Eunice Kamwendo, said it was unfortunate that the Sadc industrialisation agenda has yet to materialise in the region.
She said this is because the share of manufacturing value added to the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) has failed to increase significantly over the last five years.
Kamwendo, a Malawian, said this is a reality that needs to push nations towards action.
During the meeting, Chakwera asked the audience to give Nyusi a standing ovation.
The Sadc Industrialisation Week is an annual public-private engagement platform to foster new opportunities for intra-African trade and investment.
The theme for this year is ‘Bolstering Productive Capacities in the Face of Covid-19 Pandemic for Inclusive, Sustainable Economic and Industrial Transformation’.
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