Day 2 Wednesday April 29

 

This closes the Sadc extraordinary summit as well as our updates

1757: President Mugabe thanks the media and invites them to attend the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) currently underway in Bulawayo.

1755: We have estblished we are very rich in natural resources, let’s exploit those resources ourselves. let’s not let those resources contniue enriching those that are outside just because their are more skilled, let’s get the skills and be more skilled. That was what the meeting was about. Let’s build our own industries manned by our young men so that they don’t go to one place.

1744: President Mugabe says we need integration as a region in terms of energy and infrastructure.

1733: It’s n ot just for South Africa to resolve, it’s up to us the neighbouring states…our people should not have the instinct of just running to South Africa. Even those that go get degrees they don’t want to come back home..i guess it’s the life, the big shops that attract you but what good is it when you don’t have an income and you are in danger. No specific measures have been agreed on a joint basis but South Africa is doing education programmes to educate their people. I was suggesting that us the neighbours to do what we can to stop our people going to South Africa.

1730: The Minister of Foreign Affairs was telling me that one of his thrfee nephews came back home and he asked him what are the other two who remained doing and he replied “Huh varikungo dealer dealer” (They are dealing). People must go back to their own countries.

1727: We hired buses to carry people back home. The buses in South Africa would carry the people in Durban and leave them at Beitbridge and buses from here would carry them to their homes….Most of the women said they won’t go back but the men said they would go back so what would you do with them.

1724: Long ago going to South Africa was regarded as going to heaven on earth…and for our province of Matabeleland South, the men there if you’ve not been to Jo-burg you have not had the taste of good life. Each and everyone wants to have some method of escaping home somehow…when you get to South Africa and assume new names.

1720:  You don’t just start by planning to indiginise and beneficiate them..you need a very broad production base, a very broad agricultural base. It’s not everything you can all at once, we need priorities.

1712: Look we produce cocoa, very little manufacturing of sweets..chocolates are done by Switzerland with cocoa from Ivory Coast, Ghana and other countries that produce cocoa. We produce cotton….yet do very little in terms of producing clothing.When you do it in a way that not only clothes your people but export…then we say you have industrialised.

1710: The Sadc chair President Mugabe is now holding a press conference. He says each and every country has had the experience of its resources being taken in its raw form and payment being next to nothing…and that meaning the particular country will not develop at all. If you look at the countries that got their independence in the 60s…..there has been little change to what the situation was in the pre-colonial times and after acquiring independence…why is that? It’s not we don’t have resources, resources we have but we don’t have capital.

1020: The opening session of the summit ends here and the summit goes into a closed session.

We shall be back with more updates.

1018: The almighty gives us the dose of life and Hashim fell ill and suffered for a long time and finally he was called by the almighty a few days ago. The fact that we are now a free people no longer with the racial systems we owe to him as well. He calls for a minute of silence in honour of the late Brig-General.

1115: He says Mbita was the overall seer while working under Julius Nyerere as they sought ways to get materials for the training programmes of the OAU Liberation Committee. President Mugabe says it was a formidable task but he managed to do it all.

1111: President Mugabe has now been given the platform to speak on liberation hero and icon Brig-General Hashim Mbita who died this week. President Mugabe says he was saddened by the Brig-General’s death given the role he played superintending the programme of the struggles in Southern Africa.

1109: Dr tax says the secretariat is committed to mobilising resources to fully utilise the 16 acres of land at the centre. Only a quarter is in use at the moment says Dr Tax as she finishes her remarks.

1105: Dr Tax thanks President Mugabe and his Government for donating the infrastructure. She says it demonstrates Zimbabwe’s commitment to regional integration.

1104: He commends that Sadc  standby force for taking a leading role in maintaining peace in the region. He hands over the title deeds to Dr Tax and the symbolic key which he jokingly says must never be lost. He concludes his speech.

1101: President Mugabe says peace and stability are important for development hence the idea of setting up the regional centre in Harare by Sadc countries in 1996. He says the centre equips civilians and security personnel with the knowledge to deal with instabilities.

1058: He concludes before being called to the podium again to hand over the title deeds of the Peace Training Centre.

1057: Let’s exercise our minds as we deliberate on these poverty eradication measures. Let the summit be a step to achieve the ideals of our founding fathers in Sadc and Africa as a whole.

1055: Development of critical skills and expertise is also of paramount importance in economic development. It is important to fund the industrialisation on our won…Those benefiting from our resources cannot take a leading role as they always believe in inequality. This we are doing for the benefit of our youths and their programmes….we live for our youths.

1052: Our focus on reducing tariffs has not brought joy to our people, let’s have effective policies that stimulate economic growth. It is imperative  we adopt a paradigm shift of embracing a strategy that recognises value addition and beneficiation at regional level. The Sadc Infrastructure Plan must be in tandem with this industrial strategy.

1049: If we remain exporters of raw materials we will never go anywhere while other economies flourish at our expense. We have to reverse this trend by adding value to our products.

1048: Our region has abundant resources which should benefit us more than anyone in the world. This will lead to increased returns.

1047: He commends President Zuma for his role in the peaceful Lesotho elections.

1039: He says he hopes the summit will be a resounding success and enhance integration of the region economically.

1038: President Mugabe is now giving his opening remarks. He welcomes the delegates saying Zimbabwe feels honoured to host the event. He says industrialisation was overdue.

1014: President Mugabe leads the Sadc Heads of State into the conference room and takes his seat upfront and besides him is Dr Tax. The proceedings kick off with the Zimbabwe national anthem.

1006: The Sadc leaders are expected to enter the conference room anytime from now and the stage is now undergoing some last minute touch ups before the event starts.

0959: There shall also be, during the opening session, a handover of title deeds and ceremonial key for the Regional Peace Training Centre to the Sadc secretariat by President Mugabe. Dr Tax will give an acceptance speech on behalf of the Sadc secretariat. Afterwards, the leaders will go into a closed session.

0956: The summit is expected to start with remarks by Sadc executive secretary Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax followed by opening remarks by Sadc chairperson President Mugabe.

0953: Already at the venue are Presidents Edgar Lungu, Ian Khama, Filipe Nyusi and Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosilili. The regional leaders are heading straight into the VIP lounge.

0946: Sadc Heads of State and Government have begun converging at the Rainbow Towers Hotel for the the extraordinary summit on industrialisation.

0834: Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika will not be attending as expected and will be represented by that country’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Dr. George Chaponda.

0800: South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma arrives and is welcomed by Economic Planning Minister Simon Khaya Moyo and  Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province Miriam Chikukwa.

0755: President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi also arrives and welcomed by Minister of Higher Education Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri.

0750: Botswana President Ian Khama arrives and is met by Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi and Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province Miriam Chikukwa.

0730: Swaziland’s King Mswati III arrives and is welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mbengegwi, ICT Minister Supa Mandiwanzira and Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province Miriam Chikukwa.

 

Day 1 Tuesday April 28

1540: Zambian President Edgar Lungu has arrived for the Sadc Heads of State Extra Ordinary Summit set for tomorrow. He was received at the Harare International airport by Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi.

 

 

 

 

1300: Tanzanian Vice President Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal has arrived for the Sadc Extra Ordinary Summit to be held in Harare tomorrow.

10 leaders expected for summit today

Herald Reporters
Ten Sadc Heads of State and Government are expected in Harare today ahead of the regional bloc’s Extraordinary Summit set for tomorrow to discuss Sadc’s draft industrialisation strategy and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan. Other countries out of the 15 member-states will be represented by high-ranking officials.

The Sadc Council of Ministers held its Extraordinary meeting yesterday and adopted the draft industrialisation strategy that will be presented to the Heads of State and Government Summit.

Addressing a media briefing after the meeting, Sadc Council of Ministers chairman and Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the draft strategy would promote the exploitation of the region’s resources for the benefit of its people through value-addition and beneficiation.

“The industrialisation strategy that will be developed focuses on a number of areas,” he said.

“The areas that the strategy will look at are related to the whole question of agro-processing. As you know, the bulk of our products are exported in their raw form and we get little returns from them. The idea is that the processing should be done in the region.”

Minister Mumbengegwi said other areas that they looked at related to the growth of the manufacturing sector through value-addition and beneficiation of the region’s vast mineral resources.

“The idea to process them locally is so that not only will we be able to access the finished product at a reasonable price, but we will also be able to get better returns from exporting them.”

Minister Mumbengegwi said Sadc had to address a number of pre-requisites like energy, infrastructure and human resources development to ensure the success of the strategy.

“To have this (value addition and beneficiation) a number of factors have to be addressed,” he said.

“You cannot manufacture or beneficiate without the requisite skills base, therefore, we need to invest in skills training and human resources development.

“You also cannot do it without energy and as you know we have an energy deficit in the region, so this is an area the region has to address. We also have to look at infrastructure, roads and railways. The strategy does appreciate that many of these things have to be done at a national level, but some of them can be done at a regional level.”

Minister Mumbengegwi said Sadc would leverage its abundant natural resources for funding, saying the draft regional policy, if adopted, would not rely on donor funding.

“Our strategy is not looking for aid but business,” he said.

“We will look at bankable projects where investors can come in and make handsome returns from their investments. We are looking at our resources, we have abundant resources and we can leverage these resources.”

In his remarks while officially opening the Sadc Council of Ministers Extraordinary meeting, Minister Mumbengegwi said the success of the industrialisation strategy and roadmap hinged primarily on effective partnerships between Government and the private sector.

“The Draft Sadc Strategy and Roadmap before you, recognises that industrial policy formulation and implementation will largely be undertaken at the national level and that its success will depend on forging effective partnerships between Government and the private sector,” he said.

“It also seeks to engender major economic and technological transformation and national and regional levels, aimed at accelerating growth and enhancing comparative and competitive advantages of the economies of the region.”

Minister Mumbengegwi said the policy, if adopted, would be implemented from now until 2063 when the regional is expected to have attained high levels of economic growth.

Addressing the same meeting, Sadc executive secretary Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax said: “We are confident that both the Regional Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap, and the revised RISDP once approved by the Summit will set the region’s path to industrialisation and socio-economic prosperity of our citizens.”

She said the strategy was premised on that regional integration was important to accelerate industrialisation.

“While the decision to re-orient the Sadc regional integration path with proper linkages between industrialisation and market liberalisation is indeed a timely decision, the strategy will bear the intended results only if matched with practical actions and the needed resources, both human and financial,” said Dr Tax.

“This will no doubt require not just goodwill and hope, but a robust financial strategy, commitment and determination from all concerned, to stay the course that we have chosen.”