Saxon Zvina

SADCC was formed as a way to reduce the  the then Frontline States dependency on South Africa which was by then led by Apartheid National Party.When South Africa got it’s independence the regional body changed it’s name to SADC.The regional body expanded from having 9 nations to current 16,the region has experienced relative peace save for disturbances in DRC. The region should now focus on adapting to new developments in the world by coming up with mechanisms to develop the region.

There is need to create focus areas that will make the region independent and able to safeguard peace and development.The region is endowed with immense potential given that it has good climate and in terms of mineral wealth it has literally all the minerals.

The region should work towards coming up with a single currency and a payment platform to reduce dependency on SWIFT and US$.The issue of currency swap should be looked into as the world is moving towards de-dollarisation as the Western world has used the reliance on their currencies and payment platforms to punish nations that wouldn’t be doing the bidding for them.The region should have its own central bank where regional trade will be conducted through,by having a payment platform then costs incurred by using platforms like SWIFT would curtailed.The trajectory towards economic independence should be immediate priority.

The region is known for having vast mineral deposits some which are untapped and SADC should leverage on such God given resources for it’s development.The region should work towards value addition in each and every SADC member,as a short term measure nations who have such facilities should assist those without.The region has Rare Earth Elements which are critical for Aerospace,Satellites,Missile Defense Systems,EV sector etc.The region should focus on setting up Research and Development centre to start projects using REE this can be through making it mandatory for every entity that wants to mine REE to finance research in a member state it will be exploiting the elements.The availability of all components involved in the EV sector should see all these components manufactured in the region.The region should push for the setting up of Electrical Vehicle Manufacturing Plants as literally all components are found within the region.DRC and Zimbabwe are good candidates for having such plants as they do  possess all the mineral components.There is need to have a regional metal exchange similar to. Shanghai or London as we do have the minerals but we let foreigners determine or manipulate the prices which is detrimental for economic independence which should be the new thrust for SADC.

There is need to come up with a regional ICT policy and setting up of an AI centre within the region as AI is anchored upon minerals which the region is endowed with.The region should task all it’s educational institutions to come up with Apps and Social Media platforms which do serve the regional interests.There is need for the region to come up with educational systems that celebrate Africanism and decolonisation of the mind which is one of the reasons why the region hasn’t achieved total economic independence.The educational systems should come up syllabuses that project regional growth .

There is need to come up with political platforms that are not subservient to the former colonisers who have used the adoption of their one size fits all systems to create fissures within the regional body.The total independence from foreign systems is a panacea to all politically inspired challenges.There is also need to set up iron clad security cooperation and the region should eject any member state that accommodates institutes such as Africom as their intentions are well known.There should be a regional taskforce to help fight any terror activities in member states as peace is critically important for any economic development.There should be regional approach towards finding lasting peace in DRC as the member has been a victim of destabilisation since 1960s and main reason for the destabilisation is due to DRC being mineral rich as it’s endowed with 90minerals of economic importance. The security apparatus ofSADC member states should be focusing on thwarting new threats that are emerging as a result of globalisation.The enactments of regularisation of foreign agents operating in member states should be of utmost importance as destabilisation and terror activities are coordinated by such organisations as no development can come up when there is destabilisation.

The region usually have droughts once every decade due to El Nino effect and the La Nina results in floods.These problems are as a result of climate change and the region should come up with measures to mitigate such impacts.The droughts induced by El Nino effects have resulted in food insecurity in the region and to combat such ,there is need for the region to come up with irrigation programs in each and every member state.SADC should invest in advance warning system and focus towards development of seeds that are drought resistant should be invested in to ensure food security.

The SADC power pool should thrive towards eradication of power blackouts in member states through investing in research towards sustainable energy development policies.The region has been affected by climate change which has seen Hydropower generation depletion.There is need to come up with measures to invest in green energy development policy by focusing on Geo Thermal,Solar and Wind technologies.Energy is key driver of any economic development thus focus should be towards how regional integration can achieve energy sustainability through investing in research.There is need to finance development of Cabora Bassa as it’s not operating at its maximum capacity and if its developed it can mitigate against power crisis currently bedevilling many SADC member states.

Saxon Zvina is a Principal Consultant of Skyworld Consultancy.He can be contacted via email saxon@skyworld.co.zw or Twitter:saxonzvina2