Infrastructure at the heart of SADC agenda

South Africa will place infrastructure development at the centre of its year-long Chairship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with President Cyril Ramaphosa calling for faster implementation of regional transport, energy and water projects.

Closing the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal recently, President Ramaphosa said infrastructure is essential to turning the region's industrialisation ambitions into jobs, trade and economic growth.

“Our region is richly endowed. We have minerals that are critical to the industries of the future. We have vast agricultural potential. We have abundant renewable energy resources. We have a young population and a growing market,” he said.

“Our task is to convert these endowments into factories, farms, enterprises, skills, exports and jobs. For this to happen, we are committed to building the infrastructure that binds our economies together.”

The Summit adopted a theme focused on accelerating industrialisation, building on previous commitments to agricultural transformation, energy transition and increased productive capacity.

A major focus of South Africa's Chairship will be the development of regional corridors, which President Ramaphosa described as the “arteries of regional integration”.

These corridors are expected to connect production centres to markets, link landlocked countries to ports and improve the movement of goods, services and people across borders.

“We therefore call on corridor countries to conclude and implement the necessary legal and institutional arrangements required to operationalise these corridors,” he said.

South Africa will also work with regional partners to revitalise railway networks, modernise ports and improve road and logistics systems.

“We know that without efficient infrastructure, there can be no competitive regional economy,” the President said.

Infrastructure development will also extend to the energy sector. President Ramaphosa said SADC aims to increase access to electricity across the region to at least 85% by 2030.

“We will strengthen regional electricity interconnection and accelerate investment in generation and transmission infrastructure so that energy can move efficiently between our countries,” he said.

The President added that the same urgency should be applied to water and sanitation infrastructure.

“Investment in water, sanitation, energy and transport infrastructure is not simply investment in physical assets. It is investment in human dignity, economic opportunity and the future productive capacity of our region,” he said.

To support implementation, South Africa's Chairship will prioritise the mobilisation of domestic, regional and international funding, including the operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund.

President Ramaphosa said the region already has the strategies and institutions needed to reinforce integration, but implementation must now take priority.

“The challenge before us is therefore implementation,” he said.

He said progress should be measured through tangible outcomes such as railway rehabilitation, improved electricity generation, reduced border delays, increased trade and job creation.

“Let us build a Southern Africa that is peaceful, integrated, industrialised and prosperous. And let us build it together,” the SADC Chairperson concluded.