Staff Reporter
The Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has tasked Zimbabwe with the role of championing industrialisation in the region.
Dhunraj Kassee, who is the Director of Industrial Development and Trade for the SADC Secretariat, made the revelation during the 40th SADC Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Cooperation Structures meetings, currently underway in the resort town of Victoria Falls.
Kassee said that after a recent lengthy, fruitful discussion with President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare, he delivered the good news that Zimbabwe would assume the role of championing industrial growth in the region.
“When we met the President in Harare, I had the pleasure of notifying His Excellency of the Secretariat’s decision to have Zimbabwe as the member State that should lead the way in terms of industrial growth in the region,” said Kassee.
He went on to express that the decision came after the country’s successful hosting of the 7th Annual SADC Industrialisation Week (SIW) last year in Harare.
The honorary status would mean that Zimbabwe would have to implement systems that promote industrial growth and act as a beacon for other member States to emulate.
Kassee, however, lamented the lack of commitment in the region to allocate funds for research and development.
He noted that some developed nations, such as Germany and South Korea, have huge budget allocations specifically for research and development.
Kassee went on to say that research and development formed the basis of any development, as it provided solutions to most of the problems bedevilling regional industrial growth, such as the failure to add value to most goods and minerals before exporting them.
“If member States were to allocate more funds to research and development, most problems would be solved before they even became major issues. For example, research would provide value-addition methods that would see goods and services appreciating in value for the exporting nation,” said Director Kassee.
The TBT Cooperation Structures meetings have provided a platform for member States to track the implementation of the Standardisation, Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Metrology (SQAM) activities at the national level, as well as identify and resolve any potential TBT in the region.
