Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Elias Magosi has announced a portfolio of 20 projects with added value for the export of mineral resources, as part of the creation of jobs and reduce poverty.
The official said so at the opening ceremony of the 43rd SADC Summit of the Heads of State and Government, themed: “Human and financial capital: The key drivers for sustainable industrialisation of the SADC Region”, held Thursday in Luanda.
In his speech, the SADC’s Executive Secretary invited international cooperation partners and the private sector to join this initiative by SADC and member countries.
With a US$720 billion GDP and an estimated population of 360 million inhabitants (75% young), this African economic bloc already has 20 defined mineral resource projects linked to the value chain, noted the official. .
Addressing the Heads of State and Government at the event, Elias Magosi said that the regional region has priorities that affect, mainly, the agro-processing of mineral resources to value chains, such as in the pharmaceutical sector to boost the sector for the population’s benefit.
“We cannot continue to lose the benefits of the walking resources with which our region is blessed, such as oil and mineral resources, continuing to export our raw materials without added value, benefiting other economies”, he stressed.
He added that to overcome this trend, SADC’s strategy is to limit the import of processed goods and, at the same time, reduce the export of raw materials.
He explained that the organisation intends, in this way, to import more industrial equipment to strengthen regional integration through structural transformation and increase the manufacture of goods and services.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)