The ‘big agenda’ for leaders

Seychelles President Danny Faure (centre) is accompanied by Industry and Trade minister Innocent Bashungwa after his arrival at the Julius Nyerere International Airport yesterday. PHOTO | Antony Siame.

Dar es Salaam. The task of rolling out an ambitious regional industrialisation programme looms large as the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) heads of state and government begin their summit in Dar es Salaam today.

The two-day summit is a culmination of a fortnight of marathon meetings during which senior government officials from across the region expressed concern over the little progress made, and the major hurdles ahead for the industrial agenda.

Amid growing calls for Sadc member states to stop foot-dragging and, instead, walk the talk on industrialisation, the meeting in the Tanzanian commercial capital Dar es Salaam could be in many ways a defining moment for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Tanzania President John Magufuli - who becomes the next Sadc chairman - has made industrialisation his top priority.

All eyes are now on his peers across the region to take concrete action. The summit is responsible for the overall policy direction and control of functions of the community, ultimately making it the policy-making institution.

Last week, senior government officials from member states released a declaration highlighting the setbacks and proposals for the way forward.

That was at the end of the 4th Sadc Industrialisation Week held on August 5-9, 2019 at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam.

One of the key challenges noted is the chronic poor financing of infrastructure projects – which in itself poses a crippling challenge to industrialisation.

According to the Sadc Regional Infrastructure Development Short Term Action Plan Assessment-2019 report, only five per cent of the 134 short-term regional infrastructure projects have been implemented.

Released early this week in Dar es Salaam, the report says only seven projects in energy, transport, ICT, meteorology, water and tourism sector had actually been completed.

Ninety-eight of the projects, valued at $64.32 billion (Sh147.9 trillion), were earmarked for implementation in the short-term period: 2012- 2017.

“Most of the projects remain at the feasibility stage,” said Sardc executive director Munetsi Madakufamba. He said that funding challenges topped the list of factors behind the poor performance trend.

The report also pointed an accusing finger at Sadc member states for their lack of commitment after it emerged that only 12 per cent of the reviewed projects received funds from the members’ national budgets.

This is despite the fact that the member states had described 97 per cent of the projects as ‘high priority’ - and incorporated 94 per cent in their national development plans.

“This calls into question the level of priority that regional infrastructure projects are actually being given by Sadc,” Mr Madakufamba said.

Sardc board member Madaraka Nyerere said regional integration and development can only be achieved if there is solidarity among the member states.

“In so doing, we will stand a chance of attaining this year’s Sadc theme: ‘A conducive environment for inclusive and sustainable industrial development, increased intra-regional trade and jobs creation’,” said Mr Nyerere.

Another challenge for the Sadc leaders is the multiplicity of barriers that deter intra-regional trade. Intra-regional trade is low in Sadc, with the value of trade between member states at only 22 per cent of total Sadc trade.

Prioritising intra-regional trade will be critical to realising the industrialisation dream, says Mr Salum Shamte, the new chairman of the Sadc Business Council. The regional bloc officially launched the Council early this year with the aim of fostering a stronger working relationship between the public and private sectors in the execution of the Sadc Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063.

“Non-Tariff Barriers still adverselt affect trade flows in the bloc. This is for lack of political will among some Sadc states,” noted Mr Shamte, who doubles as the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) chairman. With a call to action in the Dar es Salaam declaration released last week, Sadc member states set the tone for increased commitment to addressing the challenges.

Weak or absence of project preparation for lack of funds, dependence on short-term financing, weak policy and regulatory frameworks, trade barriers and infrastructure shortcomings are among the notable setbacks.

Part of the declaration reads: “The region must address infrastructure shortcomings, mitigate trade barriers, and promote regional innovation and research development for industrialise.”