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By Dr. John Pombe Magufili*
I feel greatly
honoured and yet privileged to be given this rare opportunity to address this
Assembly for the second time this morning. Unlike the first time, this time
around, I stand before Your Excellencies when you have given me a huge
responsibility to chair this Organization for the next one year.
Allow me,
therefore, on behalf of the Government and People of the United Republic of
Tanzania, as well as that of my own, to thank Your Excellencies Heads of State
and Government of the SADC for the trust you have bestowed on me. Indeed, being
a Chair of this body is a great honour not only to me personally but also to
the Government and people of Tanzania. I thank you very much.
I
know, this is not an easy job; it comes with high expectations, however, with
great sense of humility, I humbly accept this responsibility. And I have all
the confidence that, with Your Excellencies’ support and cooperation, I will be
able to live to your expectations and to the expectations of the people of this
sub-region. And to be honest, I have no reason not to believe that you will
offer me all the needed support during my tenure.
You
have been doing so since my inauguration as President of the United Republic of
Tanzania in November 2015. In this connection, this being the first SADC Summit
to attend, I would like to take the advantage of this occasion to thank Your
Excellencies Heads of State and Government of the SADC for all the support and
cooperation you have been extending to me since I took over the leadership of
my dear country, Tanzania. I greatly appreciate your support and cooperation;
and it is my desire to strengthen further these cooperation and partnerships
for the benefits of our Community and all our Member States.
May
I also seize this opportunity to reassure Your Excellencies, and whoever had any cause of doubt, that, Tanzania is
fully committed to the SADC; its vision, goals, principles and ideals. Indeed,
we always consider SADC
as an integral part of our future. This is why we have continued to be an
active member of SADC and effectively participate in the implementation of its
various initiatives and programmes.
In short, I want to assure Your Excellencies that,
during my tenure as the President of this country, the Tanzania that you very
well know will remain the same. Indeed, I promise to follow the footsteps of all my predecessors, the late Father of the
Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere and Their Excellencies Ali Hassan
Mwinyi, Benjamin William Mkapa and Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. I
know it is not an easy task, but I will try to the best of my ability; and so
God help me.
Your
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen;
Before
I proceed with my address, I would like to seize this opportunity to
acknowledge the exemplary leadership of our Community by the Outgoing Chair of
SADC, His Excellency President Dr. Hage Geingob, during
the past one year. Indeed, as his Deputy, I must admit that, I benefited from
his huge experiences, which I believe will help me for the new role I have just
assumed.
I particularly wish to commend Outgoing Chairperson for his dedication
and commitment on the issues of infrastructure development and youth
empowerment; as well as for ensuring that SADC actively participated and played
its role in the efforts towards reducing the effects of cyclone Idai and Kenneth that had affected some SADC Member States. In this
connection, allow me, once again, to extend my condolences and sympathy to all
Member States that were affected by these unfortunate and tragic events.
I
wish also to pay a glowing tribute to my brother, His
Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu of Zambia and the Outgoing Chairperson
of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation for his
tireless efforts to promote peace, stability and democracy in our region.
During his tenure, six Member States held their elections peacefully: Comoro,
DRC, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi and South Africa. In this regard, I am sure you will all join me in
congratulating Their Excellencies Andry Rajoelina of the Republic of
Madagascar, Azali Assoumani of the Union of Comoros, Cyril Ramaphosa of the
Republic of South Africa and Peter Mutharika of the Republic of Malawi for the
victories in their respective countries.
I wish also to commend the Kingdom of
Eswatini for holdig its Parliametary election. But, in a very special way, I
salute my dear brother, His Excellency Felix Tshekesedi, for emerging
victorious in democratic elections, which enabled a peaceful transfer of power
for the first time in DRC since its independence in 1960. This is indeed
another testimony that democracy has continued to grow and take roots in our
sub-region.
At this juncture, I cannot fail to express my appreciation to our
Secretariat under the able leadership of Madam Executive Secretary, Dr.
Stergomena Tax. During the preparations of this Summit, I was able to experience
the sterling job this Secretariat has been doing to our region. But, this is
yet another clear testimony that when women are given the opportunity, they can
perform a remarkable work. It is for this reason also, we in Tanzania, decided
in 2015 to elect a woman, as our Vice-President, Her Excellency Samia Suluhu
Hassan. And I am glad that she has never failed us. Your Excellency Madam the
Vice-President may you please rise up so that delegates can recognize you.
Your
Excellencies;
Distinguished Invited Guests;
Ladies and
Gentlemen;
It is an open secret that since its inception, SADC has recorded some
important milestones; the elimination of colonialism and apartheid rule being
the greatest of them all. But, in addition, thanks to the efforts undertaken by
this Organization, peace
and security, which forms the cornerstone of our political and socio-economic
development, reign in most parts of our region. Indeed, there is no more
peaceful and stable region on our continent than the SADC region.
I should also
mention that since the launching of the SADC Free Trade Area in 2008,
intra-regional trade within the SADC region has been growing steadily; from 16 percent of the regional GDP to 22 percent in 2018. It is also pleasing
to note that a strong democratic culture is now
entrenched in our region and peaceful changes have become the norm.
These are indeed very important milestones. Despite
these achievemets, our region is still confroted by many challenges. Yes, there are still many challenges facing our region. Due to
time constraints, I will only highlight three of them.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Just recently, I mentioned that our region is
peaceful and more stable than any other part of this continent. This is not to say,
however, that our region is free from the conflicts. In some of our countries,
conflict situations still exist. In addition, there are other security threats,
including international terrorism, organized crimes, climate change, drought,
flood, hunger, diseases; that continue to face our region.
It is, therefore, imperative that
we continue to work together to address these challenges. This is important
because, as we all very well know, peace and security are the most critical
pre-conditions for socio-economic development and transformation. Hence, our
countries must continue to work hard to make sure that our region is free from
conflicts.In this regard, on this matter of peace and
security in our region, I urge Your Excellencies that we should always be
encouraged by the wise words of one of the greatest sons of this
sub-continent, His Excellency Robert Mugabe, former President of Zimbabwe, who
once said, and I quote: “Never, never,
never must we give up when it comes to the search for peace in any party of our
region”, end of quote. As the Chair of the SADC for the next one year, we
pledge our commitment to work with all the Member States in order to ensure
that peace and security prevail in our region.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Putting peace and
security issues aside, the biggest challenge that, I see, currently confronting
our sub-region is that of economic emancipation. In my welcome remarks I
mentioned that in transforming the SADCC with double “C” into the SADC with single “C”
in 1992, the Leaders of this region had one key objective: to use the political achievements to advance socio-economic development
and transformation in our region. Needless to say, I am sure I will be
speaking on behalf of many citizens in this region, that, this objective has
not been realized, and to be honest, if there are no concerted efforts, it will
take ages for this objective to be realized. And I am not saying this without
evidences.
Last year, 2018, our
region set a target of GDP growth of 7.0
percent; but it grew by only 3.1
percent. This was below the continent’s average growth of 3.5 percent; the Eastern African region
growth of 5.7 percent; the Northern
African region growth of 4.9 percent
and the 3.3 percent growth in the
Western African region. In addition, our intra-regional and extra-regional
trade performance is also not so good.
In 2017, the SADC region, with 16 Member States, a population of 327 million people, a total area of 9,882,959 square kilometers, and which
is blessed with abundant and diverse natural resources, only exported goods
worth US$ 143 billion. On the other
hand, Mexico and Vietnam, countries with areas of 1,943,955 square kilometer and 331,210square
kilometer and a population of 132.5
million people and 97.5 million
people each exported goods worth US$ 403
billion and US$ 214 billion,
respectively. This clearly shows that our economies are not performing well;
and we are still very far from achieving our economic objectives. I am saying
this openly because there is no need to hide it. That is the truth.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Of course, there are many reasons
why our economies are not performing as expected; one of them being lack of
information on the opportunities available in our respective countries. In May
this year, for instance, I had the opportunity to visit four SADC countries.
Three of them, due to drought and other natural disasters, were experiencing
shortage of food. In this respect, it surprised me to hear that those countries
were planning to import food stuff from outside Africa, while we in Tanzania
were struggling to find markets for 2.5
milliontons of our food surplus. But that is just one example. Due to lack
of information, our countries are also importing cars, sugar, and fuel very far
away from our region, while some SADC Member States; South Africa, Mauritius
and Angola; for instance, are producing the same, respectively.
Exportation and importation costs
also contribute to the poor economic performance of our region. Studies have shown that the costs relating to
customs in our region are three times higher than in Asia and five times higher
than in OECD countries. These costs compounded by the transportation cost, make
the situation even worse. I am reliably informed, for instance, that it costs
less overall to import animal feed and refined sugar from South America to our
countries than to import the same from within our region.
Difference in trade and
investment policies, laws, regulations and standards has also its fair share in
hindering businesses and economic cooperation between and among SADC Member
States and, thus, affecting our economic performance. For example, it is
possible today for a good that is produced and cleared in one Member State to
be denied to enter the market of another Member State for not being able to
meet the quality standards. Why can’t we harmonize our policies, laws,
regulations and our quality standards and be able to increase the volume and
value of our intra and extra regional trade?Unless we do that, it will remain a
day dream for our region to fully realize its economic objectives.
Your
Excellencies;
Distinguished Invited Guests;
Ladies and
Gentlemen;
At this juncture, allow me also to
mention that, apart from those three challenges that I have just highlighted,
there is one more challenge that hinders our efforts towards economic
emancipation, which to me, is the biggest of them all. That challenge concerns
the low level of industrialization in our region. Your Excellencies, history has taught us that no country or region
in the world has ever developed without undergoing the process of
industrialization. And even today, all developed nations are the industrialized
countries.
Just to give you an idea of why
the industrial sector is important, the World Trade Organization Statistical
Review Report of 2018 indicates that the value of the global trade in 2017
reached US$ 23.01 trillion, of which
US$ 17.73 trillion were merchandise
trade and US$ 5.28 trillion
commercial services. Of importance to note, however, is that, of the US$ 17.73 trillion merchandise trade, 70 percent, almost US$ 12.41 trillion, were manufactured goods. In that same year,
Africa, in total, exported goods worth US$
417 billion, and as I mentioned earlier, SADC exported goods worth US$ 143 billion. More than 60 percent of Africa’s and SADC’s
exports were raw materials, mainly agricultural products, mining and fuel. That
means that Africa, including the SADC region, has not benefited much from that
increase of global trade.
This explains why Africa’s share
in the global trade is less than 3
percent. It also explains why the terms of trade are always in favour of
other regions. For instance, in the year 2017, Africa exported goods worth US$ 417 billion, but its importation
was US$ 534 billion. The reason is
simple. We are selling goods of low value. It, therefore, requires us, for
instance, to sell not less than 20 tons
of cotton, coffee or tea to buy just one tractor. And this also explains why
our people continue to remain poor. Raw material in the world markets are sold
at very low prices. In addition, due to low level of industrialization in our
region, the problem of unemployment is increasing. By exporting our raw materials it
means we are also exporting jobs.
Your
Excellencies;
Distinguished Invited Guests;
Ladies and
Gentlemen;
It is against this background
that I would like to seize this opportunity to commend SADC for adopting the Industrialisation
Strategy and Roadmap 2015 – 2063. I also commend the decision to prioritize
industrialization in each year’s SADC Summit themes and for introducing
Industrialisation Week prior to each Ordinary Summit. I am confident that these
efforts will go a long way in promoting industrialization in our respective
countries and the region at large. In this respect, I wish to assure this
august body that issues pertaining to industrialization will be the top
priority of our chairmanship.
To this end, Ionce
again, applaud the efforts undertaken by our outgoing Chair, Namibia, to
improve infrastructure in our region. There is no gain saying that
infrastructure development is an important enabler of industrialization and
market integration. That said, however, for our industrial sector to flourish,
we must also work together to improve business environment in our region by
addressing all impediments and bottlenecks, including transit delays,
bureaucratic red-tape, corruptions. This is why Tanzania has chosen “A Conducive Business Environment for
Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, Increased Intra-Regional
Trade and Job Creation” to be the theme of the SADC during her
chairmanship. It is our sincere hope that the implementation of this theme will
serve as a catalyst for sustainable industrial development, increased
intra-regional trade and job creation in our region.
Your
Excellencies Heads of State ad Government;
Before I conclude my statement, allow me to say
what I have always been telling my compatriots, and I am sure you also do, that
our countries are not poor. Our
countries are not poor. They are very rich. We have all the resources to make
us rich. Apart from a large population of 327
million people, the SADC region is home to a large number of wildlife and
plant species that are of extremely importance; not to mention livestock and
marine ecosystems. The region has also a wide diversity of ecozones, including
grassland, bushveld, karoo, savannah and riparian zones. In addition, our region
is endowed with hydrocarbons materials and mineral resources. Indeed, as a matter of fact, our region
contributes to the world about 18
percent of cobalt, 21 percent of
zinc, 26 percent of gold, 55 percent of diamond and 72 percent of platinum group of metals.
Therefore, we are not poor.
These are indeed resources that one can hope to
have in order to be rich. We must, therefore, work together to ensure that we
exploit and utilize these resources for the benefits of our countries and our
peoples. This is important because, it is only through cooperation that we will
be able to utilize these resources effectively and achieve our objectives. And
this is what the founding fathers of this Organization and our respective
countries, including the Late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Mzee Kenneth
Kaunda, the Late Samora Machel, the late Augustinho Neto, the Late Seretse
Khama, the Late Nelson Mandela, Mzee Robert Mugabe, Mzee Sam Nujoma, to mention
but a few, have taught us, that “the power of unity, when it is channeled with purpose to achieve an
objective, can provide remarkable results”. It can even move a mountain. Indeed, it was
because of unity, our founding fathers, with limited resources, were able to
fight colonialism and emerged victorious.
This is why I appeal to Your Excellencies that, let
us work together to ensure the dream that our founding fathers had in
establishing this Organization is achieved and our goal for socio-economic
transformation and emancipation of our region is realized. Indeed, I personally believe that if we can
work together, our economy will not grow by 3.1 percent, we shall be able to improve trade between us, our
industrial sector will grow, our contribution to the global trade shall
increase, our people will no longer remain poor and decent jobs will be
available to our young people.
In addition, I believe, if we work together, peace
and security will prevail in our region and we shall also have strong early
warning mechanisms and systems that will help us to deal or reduce the impact
of natural disasters that have been frequently affecting our countries,
including famine, diseass, floods, cyclones and drought.
Your Excellencies,
I
have urged you to work together in order to achieve our objectives. However, at
this juncture, allow me also, to challenge our Secretariat to assess itself. I
am saying this because, all the problems that I have highlighted, which
currently confronting our region; happen while we have our own Institution,
that is Secretariat, which is supposed to help us Member States overcome them.
I personally believe that, if our Secretariat would perform efficiently and
effectively its function, it would have found answers to the question why over
the past ten years our GDP growth has been increasing on a downward and
irregular trend.
The
last time that our GDP grew by more than 5
percent was the year 2008, whereby it grew by 5.7. Of course, in the year 2005, 2006 and 2007, our GDP also grew
by 6.6 percent, 7.3 percent and 8.0 percent, respectively. However,
since then, our economic growth has never grown by more than 5 percent: 2009 (0.6%), 2010 (4%), 2011 (4.0%), 2012 (4.4%), 2013 (4.3%), 2014
(3.4), 2015 (2.2%), 2016 (1.4%), 2017
(3.0%) and last year 2018 (3.1%).
Had
our Secretariat also lived up to its duty, our countries would have known the
reasons why, after two consecutive years of positive trade balance in 2010 and
2011, SADC region external position deteriorated to a negative balance of USD 17 billion in 2015, USD 9 billion in 2016 and improved a
little bit in 2017 to USD 1 billion.
These are some of the critical questions that our Secretariat must address and
advice Member States accordingly for a new direction.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen;
It would certainly be remiss of me to end my speech
without saying anything on Zimbabwe. As we are all aware, this brotherly and
sisterly country has been on sanctions for a long time. These sanctions have
not only affected the people of Zimbabwe and their Government but our entire
region. It is like a human body, when you chop one of its parts, it affects the
whole body. Therefore, I would like to seize this opportunity to urge the
international community to lift up sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe. This brotherly
country,
after all, has now opened a new chapter and it is ready to engage with the rest
of the world. It is, therefore, I believe, in the interest of all parties
concerned to see these sanctions removed. In this respect, I wish also to urge all SADC Member States to
continue to speak with one voice on the issue of Zimbabwe.
Long Live SADC!
Long Live Africa!
“Aluta
Continua”
*The
article is derived from President Magufuli’s acceptance speech on assuming the
role as SADC Chairperson, delivered on at the congregation of Heads of State
and Government, Dar es Salaam, 17th August, 2019.It has been reproduced in verbatim due to its significant message to SADC countries and the world.
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