South African President says Southern Africa must accelerate industrialisation, deepen regional trade and translate decades of integration into jobs, infrastructure and prosperity
By Ajong Mbapndah L
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has challenged Southern African leaders to move regional integration beyond declarations and summits and turn it into factories, jobs, infrastructure and tangible improvements in the lives of more than 400 million people across the Southern African Development Community.
Opening the 46th Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government in eThekwini on Monday, Ramaphosa said the region possesses the minerals, agricultural resources, human capital and technological potential needed to build a powerful economic bloc, but warned that the pace of transformation remains far too slow.
“We gather at this Summit to give practical meaning to its promise: to transform borders into bridges, national economies into a shared market, and geographical proximity into shared prosperity,” Ramaphosa told regional leaders.
His address placed industrialisation, regional infrastructure, energy security, food production, digital connectivity and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area at the heart of SADC’s next phase.
Integration Must Deliver More Than Communiqués
Ramaphosa said the political solidarity that helped Southern Africa overcome colonialism, minority rule and apartheid must now be translated into economic liberation.
The 16-member regional bloc represents more than 400 million people and possesses extensive mineral resources, agricultural potential, a youthful population and expanding industrial and technological capabilities. Yet Ramaphosa said the region continues to export too many raw materials while importing products it could manufacture itself.
Southern Africa recorded economic growth of approximately 3.4 percent in 2025, according to figures cited by Ramaphosa, while intra-SADC trade accounted for only about one-fifth of total regional trade.
“After decades of integration, we have not yet unlocked the full potential of our regional market,” he said.
He argued that every mineral exported without beneficiation represents value and jobs lost to economies elsewhere, while products imported despite being competitively producible within SADC represent missed employment and industrial opportunities.
“Every raw mineral exported without beneficiation represents value that has left our shores,” Ramaphosa said. “Every product imported that could competitively be manufactured here represents jobs that could have been created in our communities.”
The South African leader said citizens increasingly expect regional integration to translate into decent employment, growing industries, reliable electricity, affordable food, healthcare, education and opportunities for young people.
From Raw Materials to Regional Value Chains
Central to Ramaphosa’s message was a call for SADC countries to accelerate implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020–2030 and deepen regional value chains.
He urged countries to process more of the minerals they extract, add value to agricultural products and manufacture a greater proportion of the goods consumed across Southern Africa.
The region, he argued, must stop allowing its considerable natural wealth to leave the continent largely in raw form while finished products are imported at considerably higher value.
Ramaphosa identified infrastructure as another major obstacle to deeper regional integration, calling for more efficient road, rail and port networks connecting national economies, commercial hubs, rural communities and border regions.
Southern Africa needs modern transport corridors capable of moving minerals, agricultural commodities and manufactured products efficiently into regional, continental and global markets, he said.
“Our communiqués must become construction sites, factories, power lines, water systems, laboratories, businesses and jobs,” Ramaphosa declared.
Energy, Water and Digital Connectivity
Energy security also featured prominently in the address, with Ramaphosa calling for increased electricity generation, stronger transmission networks and deeper cooperation through the Southern African Power Pool.
Several SADC countries continue to struggle with electricity shortages that constrain industrialisation, mining, manufacturing and investment, making regional power cooperation increasingly important.
Ramaphosa also called for increased investment in cross-border water infrastructure and affordable digital connectivity, arguing that economic integration will remain incomplete if communities and businesses cannot reliably access electricity, water and the digital economy.
He said every citizen should have access to safe water and adequate sanitation, while entrepreneurs and young people across the region must be able to participate fully in an increasingly digital global economy.
SADC Must Harness AfCFTA
Ramaphosa said the African Continental Free Trade Area provides SADC with an opportunity to transform itself into a major production and trade platform serving a continental market of more than 1.4 billion people.
But he warned that exploiting that opportunity would require governments to address persistent non-tariff barriers, improve border management, harmonise standards and facilitate the movement of goods, services, capital and skills.
The SADC Free Trade Area, regional payment infrastructure and existing power cooperation have provided foundations for integration, he said, but substantially greater implementation will be required if businesses are to realise the benefits of a truly integrated market.
Ramaphosa made implementation one of the strongest themes of his address, insisting that decisions adopted by regional leaders must be properly funded, assigned, monitored and translated into measurable results.
“Regional integration must be seen and felt in the daily lives of our people,” he said.
Food Security and Agriculture
The South African president also urged SADC governments to build climate-resilient food systems, strengthen agricultural value chains and expand support for smallholder and emerging farmers.
Southern Africa, he said, has sufficient land, climate diversity and agricultural expertise not only to feed itself but to become an important global food producer.
He called for greater agricultural productivity, stronger regional food reserves and deeper cooperation across agricultural markets at a time when climate shocks and disruptions to global food supply chains continue to expose vulnerabilities in African economies.
DRC Ebola Crisis Tests Regional Solidarity
Ramaphosa used the summit to sound an urgent alarm over the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, describing the crisis as an important test of African solidarity and regional health preparedness.
Citing the latest figures available to the summit, he said nearly 5,000 confirmed cases had been recorded and more than 2,300 lives lost.
He expressed condolences to the Congolese government and people and praised health workers and communities confronting the outbreak alongside the DRC government, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and international partners.
“But the outbreak continues to outpace our efforts,” Ramaphosa warned. “We must do more, and we must act with urgency.”
He called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in conflict-affected areas to allow health workers secure access to affected communities and urged all parties to protect health facilities, humanitarian operations and medical personnel.
Ramaphosa also cautioned governments against indiscriminate restrictions on travel and trade involving affected countries, arguing that such measures can damage economies, disrupt livelihoods and potentially encourage movement through unmonitored border crossings.
SADC states, he said, should instead strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, emergency coordination and clinical preparedness while ensuring that financial pledges are converted rapidly into resources on the ground.
The wider lesson, Ramaphosa argued, is that Africa must invest consistently in resilient health systems, research and domestic production of vaccines, diagnostics and medicines if it is to build greater health sovereignty.
Peace Remains Foundation for Prosperity
While economic transformation dominated the address, Ramaphosa stressed that SADC’s development ambitions cannot succeed without peace, security and democratic stability.
“Peace without development is fragile. Development without peace is impossible,” he said.
He called for continued investment in preventive diplomacy, mediation and political dialogue while strengthening the role of the SADC Panel of Elders, the Organ Troika and other regional institutions.
The region must resolve political differences through dialogue and act collectively when peace and stability are threatened, he said.
Ramaphosa compared SADC to a great river system in which each country remains distinct but becomes stronger by joining with others.
“A tributary does not lose its identity when it joins a great river. It gains reach, depth and power,” he said. “In the same way, regional integration does not diminish our sovereignty. It multiplies our collective capacity to secure the well-being of our people.”
A Symbolic Summit in eThekwini
The location and timing of the summit carried significant historical symbolism.
Ramaphosa noted that Durban hosted the official launch of the African Union 24 years ago, marking Africa’s transition from struggles against colonialism and apartheid toward a new era centred on cooperation, integration and development.
The summit also took place exactly 34 years after the SADC Declaration and Treaty was signed in Windhoek, Namibia, on August 17, 1992.
Ramaphosa said the anniversaries should prompt regional leaders to assess whether they are moving fast enough to realise the aspirations of earlier generations of African leaders.
He also thanked Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the outgoing SADC chairperson, for his leadership and acknowledged Zambia, members of the Troika, the SADC Secretariat and other member states for their contributions to regional cooperation.
‘Turn Our Solidarity Into Shared Prosperity’
Ramaphosa closed with an appeal for the eThekwini summit to become a turning point in SADC’s drive for economic integration.
He urged leaders to turn borders into bridges, natural resources into industries, Southern Africa’s youthful population into a demographic dividend and the region’s long tradition of solidarity into shared prosperity.
“Let this Summit be remembered not merely for the declarations we adopt, but for the decisions we implement,” Ramaphosa said.
For a region with enormous natural wealth but persistent challenges of unemployment, infrastructure deficits, limited intra-regional trade and dependence on commodity exports, the message was unmistakable: Southern Africa’s next liberation struggle is economic. The challenge facing its leaders is no longer simply defining the vision, but delivering it.
