Africa-Press – Botswana. Peace and security should be at the core of the African agenda to attract foreign direct investment and bolster development, says SADC executive secretary, Mr Elias Magosi.
Mr Magosi said on the margins of the just-ended ordinary session of the African Union held in Addis-Ababa Ethiopia on Sunday that investors would only come to the motherland if they were guaranteed safety.
“No one will come into our continent if they feel unsafe.
No one will put money in the continent if they feel that their investment is at risk, so we must make sure we protect and preserve peace as per Agenda 2063,” he said.
The Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement, according to Mr Magosi, was a step in the right direction as it would help bolster intra-continental trade so that Africa does not only look at outside markets for its goods and services.
He said the likes of Botswana, which tradee primarily in beef and diamond, would besides trading with the SADC regional block, have an ample market of well over 1.4 billion Africans.
He however said that there was a lot that African countries needed to do and move swiftly towards the realisation of Agenda 2063 such as the removal of non-tariff barriers and open borders, airports and ports for the envisaged trade to take effect.
Free movement of people and infrastructure integration, he said, were amongst pertinent aspects that needed constant checking to make sure they were not only up to scratch, but that they truly facilitated trade.
The Southern hemisphere, he relayed, had a lot of catching up to do in the area of infrastructure development in aspect to such things as roads linking the 16 countries in the SADC region, a project he said had to be a priority.
Power outages and shortage of water, Mr Magosi said, were among the hurdles that impeded progress and needed to be given priority to create a seamless trade ecosystem.
He cited the Kazungula one-stop border post between Botswana and Zambia as the model that needed to be replicated across the continent to enhance integration.
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