Times Of Swaziland: MINISTER’S CALL FOR SACU PRIVATE SECTOR ENGAGEMENT

MINISTER’S CALL FOR SACU PRIVATE SECTOR ENGAGEMENT
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BY PHIWASE PHUNGWAYO on 23/08/2021 08:23:00


MBABANE – Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo is calling
for a formal private sector engagement within SACU.
Eswatini is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) alongside
Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. Minister Khumalo was this past
Thursday part of the meeting of the SACU Ministers of Trade and Industry. The
meeting was held in Gaborone, Botswana, and featured the other ministers from
the region. The key objective of the meeting was to update ministers on the SACU
industrialisation agenda. It began with the delivery of opening remarks by SACU
Chairperson Mmusi Kgafela. It was followed by remarks from the SACU Executive
Secretary Paulina Mbala Elago and the delivery of a progress report of the
technical committee of senior officials on industrialisation, export and
investment promotion. On the outcomes of the sectoral roundtables held between
March and July 2021, it was highlighted that they were geared towards
considering export and investment-related opportunities, taking into account the
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), constraints, as well as
policy-related issues for the respective sub-sectors.
The roundtables further aimed to identify the development potential and
challenges faced by the industry as well as propose appropriate recommendations
for consideration by the ministers. This was preceded by the completion of a
value chain mapping exercise under the five priority sectors of leather and
leather products, fruits and vegetable products, meat and meat products,
textiles and clothing, as well as cosmetics and essential oils. Following a
decision by the SACU Council to narrow down the scope of the pharmaceutical and
chemical sub-sector to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and essential oils in order to
achieve tangible outcomes and build manufacturing capacity in the region,
ministers were updated that a workshop to gather information on the sector and
how to actualise developmental approach was now planned for August 24, 2021.
Ministers were also expected to finalise the date for the ministerial investment
roundtable, which was initially scheduled for August/September 2021 and later
rescheduled to October/November  this year, taking into account events across
member States including the Dubai 2020 EXPO. However, after discussions, the
ministers agreed that focus should be directed to the five priority projects to
be presented at the roundtable before deciding on the actual date. The objective
of the ministerial roundtable was to showcase and profile the region’s
investment and export opportunities in targeted key priority sectors. It further
provided a unique opportunity for engaging the private sector and industry
players about the policy and regulatory frameworks conducive to enable the
development of cross border value chains.