South Africa is taking over leadership of the Southern African Development Community with a push to deepen regional commerce, as the bloc’s own assessment shows it faces tepid economic growth, persistent trade barriers and declining industrialisation.
Pretoria’s ascendancy to the chairmanship of the 16-member bloc this month follows protests against undocumented migrants in South Africa that forced tens of thousands of people, mainly from Zimbabwe and Malawi, to leave the country.
President Cyril Ramaphosa sought to address that issue directly before SADC leaders began a summit on Monday, saying South Africa was “deeply concerned and ashamed” that nationals of other countries had recently faced discrimination and ill-treatment.
“We cannot preach integration at summits and practice exclusion in our streets,” he said.
SADC’s State of the Region report, scheduled to be adopted at the summit in the eastern port city of Durban on Monday, shows intra-bloc trade remains below pre-pandemic levels, with manufacturing losing ground and growth too weak to meet its job-creation and economic development targets.
Intra-regional
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