UNITED Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has helped Zimbabwe recalibrate its industrial policies to regional frameworks, amid a push by Sadc for regional integration through industrialisation, it has been revealed.
This comes as Zimbabwe hosted the 7th Sadc Industrialisation Week meeting from July 28 to August 2 under the theme Promoting Innovation to unlock Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised Sadc.
The Sadc event is an annual public private engagement platform aimed at fostering new opportunities for intra-African trade, developing cross border value chains and identifying investment opportunities in southern Africa.
“ECA remains a trusted partner in the development journey in Southern Africa and recently supported Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe in recalibrating industrial policies for alignment and harmonisation with regional frameworks,” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Representative to Zimbabwe Ms Nisha said, on the sidelines of last week’s Sadc event.
Nisha is also Unesco’s director for its regional office for southern Africa.
She underlined that southern Africa should leverage its mineral wealth for sustainable industrialisation and the creation of sustainable jobs while adhering to lofty environmental and social standards.
The regional and Zimbabwean Unesco representative also added that this required strong governance frameworks, elaborative environmental regulations and the active participation of all stakeholders.
“The path to sustainable industrialisation in southern Africa requires collective effort, strategic planning and unwavering commitment,” Nisha said.
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“By harnessing the potential of SEZs [special economic zones], supporting MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises] and leveraging the support of development partners, we can build resilient economies that are both inclusive and sustainable.”
The ECA Sub Regional Office for Southern Africa organised two expert sessions during last week’s Sadc Industrialisation Week meetings as part of support to the regional industrial development agenda.
The sessions focused on establishment and management of SEZs and critical energy transition to green mineral development.
They provided a platform for sharing experiences on the development and management of SEZs, both national and cross-border and also allowed regional experts to explore the emerging issues in the exploitation of green minerals.
The platform also focused on just energy transition leveraging the rich natural resource base on the continent.
“SEZs should align with a country’s comparative and competitive advantage and be supported by a conducive policy and regulatory environment, including the integration of these zones into broader national development plans and policy frameworks,” ECA Sub-Regional Office for southern Africa director Eunice Kamwendo said, also speaking at the same event.
“Strong political will is necessary to secure bilateral investment commitments to the zones by providing confidence to investors.”
