Sadc Extraordinary summit on cards

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT will be held at the end of April in Harare.

The Summit avails an opportunity for Business Council of Southern Africa (BCSA), The Association of SADC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCCI) and NEPAD Business Foundation to convene concurrently a regional business conference around the same time, in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The common agenda of SADC is defined in Article 5 of the SADC Treaty (1992) and the Report on the Review of Operations of SADC Institutions (2001). The regional bloc focuses on promoting sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development; promoting common political values systems and other shared values; consolidating and maintaining democracy, peace and security.

SADC acknowledges the critically indispensable role of private sector in regional development hence its Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) outlines specific outputs in the area of private sector involvement.

However, private sector has not fully exploited opportunities to input, engage and influence regional development dynamics. The private sector is thus committed to ensure that the SADC leaders develop a road map that identifies priority actions required to improve productivity and competitiveness.

This is not only commensurate with the new dream and thrust on regional value chains and resource beneficiation, but also enhances industrial production and intra-regional business that emphasises comparative advantage.

The conference intends to amplify supply-side issues and constraints that have constrained and impeded growth of SADC economies.

Private sector is committed to playing its role in driving regional industrialisation towards a deeper integration agenda that includes services, investment, and competition policy while effectively addressing national level supply-side constraints.

The conference has attracted high-level speakers that include a former Head of State and trade experts from the region while a penultimate dinner will be attended by various ministers and government officials from the region.

An excess of 200 delegates from the region are expected to attend the regional conference. The major output of the conference will be a position paper to be presented to the Council of Ministers for onward submission to SADC Heads of State.