Sort out load-shedding, SADC advised

MEMBER States of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) have been challenged to address massive load-shedding being experienced in the region if they are to attain sustainable development.
Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the region generally has a shortfall of energy, which is a key component in manufacturing and infrastructure development among other sectors.
Dr Mumbengegwi said this on Monday during a post-council briefing on the SADC extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting.
“As you know, generally in the region, we have a shortfall of the energy requirement. I think in the region, the word ‘load-shedding’ is very familiar.
“Even young children in primary schools know what load-shedding is. This is one area that needs to be addressed if we are to be self-sufficient in our energy requirements,” Dr Mumbengegwi said.
He said member states also need to pay attention to skills development, acquisition of advanced technology, human resource development and innovative practices if they are to achieve industrialisation.
And Dr Mumbengegwi said lack of coordination and harmonisation of investment policies among member states has led to failure of most regional policies.
He also observed that the regional block has in most cases resorted to intra-regional competition as opposed to working together to achieve a common goal.
“The whole idea of coming up with a regional strategy and roadmap is to kill this competitive and destructive approach to development. So the idea is, we must harmonise our policies across the region so that investors do not exploit our resources,” he said.
And Dr Mumbengegwi said the Council of Ministers meeting has recognised the pivotal role private sector plays in the implementation and success of regional policies.
He said it is for this reason that the region will develop immense public-private partnerships in the execution of policies.
And SADC member states have recognised the need to ensure that agricultural products and minerals are fully processed before they are exported to other countries.
This is in a bid to ensure the region gets value from its natural resources materials.-ZambiaDailyMail