Southern African Development Community (SADC) ministers of Finance and Investment and the SADC peer review panel have reaffirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation in investment, financial integration and macroeconomic surveillance to accelerate inclusive economic growth.
The commitment was made at the meeting of the SADC Committee of Ministers of Finance and Investment and the Peer Review Panel held in Harare .
Chairperson of the SADC Committee of Ministers of Finance and Investment and South Africa's minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, said the region needed to rethink its development financing model in response to declining donor support.
"Beyond protecting critical social sectors, there is an urgent need to pivot toward more sustainable and diversified financing models, leveraging blended finance, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and deeper private sector participation to offset declining donor flows," he said.
Godongwana urged SADC member states to adopt coordinated and forward-looking economic policies to cushion their economies against external shocks while positioning the region as a competitive regional production hub.
"The Committee of SADC Ministers of Finance and Investment is looked upon to provide solutions to enhance financial resilience whilst embracing innovation, improving climate resilience, and reinforcing strategic partnerships, especially with the private sector," he said.
SADC executive secretary Elias Magosi said governments should adopt a whole-of-government approach to improve policy coherence and drive industrialisation across the region.
"This approach must be complemented by a re-engineered industrial strategy that promotes value addition, diversification and regional value chains, alongside a coordinated energy transition framework to guarantee reliable and affordable power for industrialisation," he said.
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He said increased intra-SADC trade, stronger border connectivity and the optimal use of member states' comparative advantages would deepen regional integration and economic resilience.
Zimbabwe's Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, said no SADC member state could realise its full economic potential on its own.
"Our economies are connected by geography, history, infrastructure, trade corridors, financial flows and a shared development aspiration. When one Member State becomes more stable, more productive and more connected, the SADC region, as a whole, becomes stronger," he said.
The ministers agreed on a number of priority actions, including strengthening domestic resource mobilisation, promoting industrialisation and value addition, expanding regional value chains, improving energy and food security, deepening regional capital markets and accelerating digital financial inclusion.
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