Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, on Tuesday urged the states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to speed up the ratification of protocols essential to economic integration, pointing to imbalances between the countries of the organisation as an obstacle.
“The establishment of a customs union that evolves into a single market and monetary union is still a challenge whose outcome urgently needs to be accelerated,” so “it will be necessary to continue with the process of ratifying protocols on trade,” Filipe Nyusi said.
The Mozambican head of state was speaking at the opening of the first SADC business forum, which began on Tuesday in the Mozambican capital.
He added that the construction and development of infrastructure conducive to the fluidity of trade and services are also fundamental for regional economic integration.
The countries of southern Africa, he said, should overcome the imbalances that characterise each of the states, such as great differences in macroeconomic stability, uneven levels of industrialisation, lack of complementarity in the structure and production base and inefficiencies in the value chain.
“In the specific case of Mozambique and concerning the private sector, we reiterate the commitment to carry out deep legal reforms for the creation of a healthy environment for business,” he stressed.
Nyusi lamented the prevalence of administrative barriers in trade between SADC countries, pointing to tax, migration and road traffic obstacles.
He also noted that the first SADC business forum was taking place at a time when southern Africa and the world, in general, were suffering the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which required severe measures to ensure a balance between public health and maintaining productive capacity.
The meeting between the SADC businesspeople comes ahead of a summit of heads of state and government of the organisation, to be held on Wednesday in Maputo, to discuss a response and support to combat terrorism in northern Mozambique.
The organisation is made up of 16 states: Mozambique, Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Comoros. Watch
