News Analysis: Roadblocks in way of Southern Africa's move towards industrilization

Southern African nations have reiterated commitment to push for industrialization while experts have pointed out several obstacles to realizing the goal.

An annual summit of regional bloc, the Southern African nations Development Community (SADC), was held under the theme "Accelerating Industrialization of SADC Economies Through Transformation of Natural Endowment and Improved Human Capital", and concluded on Tuesday in Botswana's capital Gaborone.

A SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap was approved in April, seen as a key achievement.

"The strategy and roadmap, if implemented effectively, will unlock opportunities within and beyond our borders, leading to socioeconomic transformation of SADC economies," SADC Executive Secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax told the summit.

However, experts say lack of added value in the mining sector, brain drain and trade barriers remain big challenges for the region's industrialization efforts.

SADC countries still need to consolidate their mining processing ability, economic analyst Emmanuel Mfulirwa from Botswana told Xinhua.

Mining is an industry of strategic importance in Southern Africa. Roughly half of the world's vanadium, platinum and diamonds originate from the region, along with 36 percent of gold and 20 percent of cobalt.

These minerals are a main source of income and foreign currency for many of Southern African nations and support a large number of jobs, according to the SADC.

"Industrialization in the SADC region is still being hampered by the fact that member countries are yet to realize the full benefits of beneficiation, for example in the mining and energy sectors," he said. "Beneficiation must be incorporated in the legal framework to foster serious industrial growth."

Key to industrialization is the emphasis on beneficiation and adding value to the region's diverse resources for sustainable social and economic development, said a SADC report released prior to the Gaborone summit.

Mfulirwa said another challenge facing the region is brain drain.

He said SADC countries continued to lose their best talents to Western countries where they expect better employment opportunities.

Trade barriers are also a big hindrance, South African trade expert James Rudolf told Xinhua in Gaborone.

"We still see a situation in which some regional countries impose heavily on critical sectors... This is not so with East Africa, where trade and tariff barriers have over the past decade eased. Therefore, such countries like Kenya and Tanzania are now heavily industrialized," Rudolf said.

Twelve of 15 SADC member states officially launched the Free Trade Area (FTA) in 2008, while Angola, DR Congo and Seychelles remain outside.

However, analysts seem to expect more free movement of goods. "SADC countries must allow for free or in the least, easier movement of goods across borders to foster increased industrialization," Rudolf said. Enditem