Chair, the overall goal of the Southern African Development Community, SADC, on regional economic integration is to facilitate trade and the financial liberalisation, competition and diversification of industrial development; to increase investment for deeper regional integration; and the eradication of poverty through the establishment of the SADC common market. The SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan, RISDP, which is currently under review under the leadership of the hon Minister Rob Davies on behalf of South Africa, has indeed outlined the indicative timelines to establish a SADC free-trade area by 2008; a SADC customs union by 2010; a SADC common market by 2015; and a SADC monetary union by 2016.
I think all this, and the relevant timelines, were based on how we should work together to accelerate industrialisation and our capacity to manufacture goods and services in our respective countries. Equally important would be adhering to timelines that also take into consideration our state of readiness to be able to sell goods and services to each other. So, at the end of the day, South Africa should not be seen as just being happy with ourselves, our industrial output and manufacturing capability, and not working together to make sure that other countries also develop such mechanisms.
It is one thing to want to adhere to timeframes. However, it must also be noted that, as we review this RISDP in the same process, we ought to look at accelerating the free trade area of SADC. This has to be undertaken with the customs union and also the Comesa-EAC-SADC Tripartite FTA. These matters have also largely been debated and looked at by the latest SADC summit, which took place in Mozambique. As political leaders, we should also just remember that all these plans happened and leaders made commitments prior to the global economic and financial meltdown. So, we have a responsibility to review these plans, but also, above all, to remember that the timeframes and timelines are perfect. However, we should consider issues around the beneficiation of the natural resources that we have so that we would be able to accelerate our free trade through making sure that all SADC member states have things to sell in their neighbourhoods. It must not be just a one-way traffic system.
In addition, to implement the SADC's customs union, we need to look at what lessons we are learning from the Southern African Customs Union, Sacu, which is 100 years old. It must not just be about focusing on revenue sharing, on receipts, but also making sure that we make use of those resources to fast-track integration through infrastructure building on our continent to facilitate the free movement of goods and services. We must go on the offensive regarding manufacturing and industrialisation and, as the president of one country says, stop being exporters of raw materials. By doing that, we become donors to those who have the historical capability to manufacture. We must all focus on an undertaking to beneficiate our raw, natural resources, which are not infinite.
Thank you, hon House Chair. Thank you, Minister, for the comprehensive response, which underscores one of the key pillars of the African Agenda: the consolidation of regional economic blocs.
Competitive and diversified industrial development and increased investment are fundamental to poverty eradication and employment creation. We therefore can never overemphasise the need for fast-tracking the establishment of the SADC customs union, challenges of overlaps notwithstanding. All contending views considered, is the hon Minister convinced that member countries hold a shared vision in relation to the SADC customs union, and will they collectively expedite the process of its establishment?
As the hon Sulliman has rightfully said, firstly, we need to eradicate, or do away with, all the impediments, including working on those overlaps he referred to.
Secondly, for us to have a sound SADC customs union, we need to make sure that other member states work on their industrialisation and manufacturing capability, so that we know what it is that would become the building blocks of this customs union. We need to facilitate and accelerate infrastructure build through our plans, so that we have free movement of goods and services. However, we must also make sure that goods are manufactured in our area. It shouldn't be, for example, that a member state becomes an expert in making sure that goods from other parts of the world are transported to a SADC member country, quickly repackaged and thrown into the market as a product of that particular country, just to take advantage of the arrangements of the SADC customs union.
So, those are the issues we are looking at. Is there a shared vision? Of course, yes. That's why we need to make sure of all the elements and the pillars that would make this SADC customs union work. We are focusing on the implementation of the free-trade agreement, or area, of SADC, but also the acceleration of the SADC-EAC-Comesa free trade agreement, which I referred to. This would include all sub-Saharan African member countries, save for the Maghreb. This will then indeed respond to the work and vision of our African Agenda, which is to make sure that, in the end, SADC becomes a good regional economic community that contributes positively to the African Agenda of integrating the economies of all on our continent.
Hon Minister, I hope that your negotiators, or the government's negotiators, will learn the lesson that a monetary union without a fiscal policy union is problematic. We have seen what happened in Europe. So, I want to ask you: Is it not problematic that the European Union is busy negotiating economic partnership agreements, the so-called Epas, with some of these member states? Is that not hampering progress in your negotiations at this stage?
Hon House Chair, I think in line with our vision to continue building on the African Agenda, we have also learnt what not to copy. Our region has its own uniqueness - our region, as in SADC, and our continent, Africa. We are not in any great rush. We are doing things our own way. Maybe the European Union is also quietly learning some lessons from what we are doing, which is to look at resolving our own African challenges using African solutions. There is no copying. The African Union was never meant to be a copycat of the European Union. So, as I said earlier on, we are also learning what not to do from the mistakes they made and from the lessons learned from their own current challenges.
Thank you, hon Minister. Hon members, the time allocated for questions has expired. Outstanding replies received will be printed in the Hansard.