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(TALKZIMBABWE) Africa should be self-financing: President Mugabe

Africa should be self-financing: President Mugabe
Ralph Nkomo
Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:54:00 +0000

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has commended Comesa institutions together with the Afro-Exim Bank and the Africa Development Bank for their role in mobilizing credit lines for Zimbabwe for the purpose of increased capacity utilisation in industry.

Speaking during a state banquet he hosted for Comesa Heads of State and Government in Victoria Falls, the president said Zimbabwe is grateful for the invaluable support and solidarity from the African Union, Sadc, Comesa and other African institutions.

Zimbabwe had so far secured loans totalling $1 billion from African financial institutions such as the African Development Bank, the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank and $150 million from neighbouring South Africa and Botswana.

The loans will be mainly used to revive Zimbabwe's industries.

President Mugabe said the region must resource its financial institutions such as the Comesa Fund which has an adjustment and infrastructural facility to ensure the sustainability of infrastructural development programmes.

He also noted that agriculture is a critical sector which accounts for more than 32% of Comesa’s GDP and is a source of livelihood for the majority of the region’s population.

"Agriculture is a critical sector which accounts for more than 32 percent of Comesa’s gross domestic product. It provides a livelihood to about 80 percent of the region’s population and accounts for about 65 percent of our foreign currency earnings," he said.

"Agriculture also contributes more than 50 percent of raw materials to our industrial sector. While the majority of Comesa citizens derive their livelihood from agriculture, the sector’s overall productivity is relatively low.

"The challenge, therefore, is to enhance agricultural productivity and competitiveness in the Comesa region as well as improve access to arable land, inputs, equipment, farming and marketing skills to smallholder farmers."

President Mugabe also noted that the region is faced with immense socio-economic challenges that include poverty, unemployment, energy deficiency, unsafe water and sanitation, HIV and AIDS as well as inadequate social infrastructure and services.

He therefore underscored the need for the integration of the region’s developmental programmes to in order to tackle these challenges.

President Mugabe called for the region to operationalise its peace and security mechanisms in order to achieve sustainable conflict prevention, management and resolution.

The Comesa summit, which ran under the theme "Consolidating regional economic integration through value addition, trade and food security", saw the bloc launching a Customs Union.

Comesa also launched a Regional Payment and Settlement System that will allow companies in member-states to transact directly with one another through local banks using their own currencies.

Labels: COMESA, FINANCING, MUGABE

posted by MrK @ 7:10 PM