Parks Tau urges SADC to drive manufacturing and job creation
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said SADC must boost manufacturing, industrialise critical minerals and strengthen regional value chains to create jobs.
Tau said Southern African countries must stop exporting raw materials and start manufacturing their own products if the region is to create jobs.
He was speaking at the opening of the ninth Southern African Development Community (SADC) Industrialisation Week in Durban on Monday.
The minister said the SADC has abundant critical minerals, fertile agricultural land and a growing regional market, but continues to lose value by exporting raw materials instead of finished products.
"For too long, we have exported raw materials and imported manufactured products. This has limited industrial development, job creation, and the value retained in our economies. Industrialising our critical minerals gives us a chance to change that trajectory," says Tau.
Tau also said there is a need to reduce reliance on donor funding, remove trade barriers and strengthen regional value chains.
Delegates agreed that industrialisation remained the region's top economic priority and pledged to turn commitments into measurable action to drive growth and employment.
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