President Mnangagwa Pushes COMESA to halt raw exports to steer regional manufacturing growth

HARARE —Zimbabwe's  President Emmerson Mnangagwa has challenged businesses across the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to ditch raw commodity exports in favour of value addition. 

President Mnangagwa was speaking at the opening of the 19th COMESA Business Forum in Harare on Tuesday.

He rallied investors to pour capital into manufacturing, mineral beneficiation and cross-border supply chains to unlock the region’s economic potential.

“Private sector players are urged to move decisively from the export of commodities towards value addition, beneficiation and manufacturing. 

“On its part, Zimbabwe, in December 2022, made the decision to restrict exports of unprocessed lithium ore, in alignment with our determination to accelerate industrialisation and retain value at source,” President Mnangagwa urged.

The forum, ran under the theme One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in COMESA.It brings together policymakers, investors, business leaders and development finance institutions ahead of the bloc’s 25th Heads of State and Government Summit.

The Zimbabwean leader emphasised the need to walk the talk on regional intergration urging countries to utlise each other rather than operate in isolation.

“A Zimbabwean agro-processor should be able to source packaging from Zambia, access finance from a regional financial institution, and work with a Kenyan distributor to reach consumers across COMESA. 

“For the private sector gathered here, there are diverse prospects presented by regional integration which brings practical expression to the motto ‘One Market, One Future’,” President Mnangagwa added.

He identified agriculture, critical minerals, energy, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, tourism and digital technologies as sectors offering opportunities for investors seeking to establish regional value chains.

President Mnangagwa urged delegates to turn the discussions into bankable projects and lasting business relationships, stressing that the ultimate test of regional integration would be its impact on production, trade and livelihoods.

“May this Business Forum renew our mutual commitment to production, industrialisation, investment, value addition and intra-regional trade, so that our ‘One Market delivers One Future’ for all our peoples, no one and no place must be left behind,” he said

COMESA comprises 21 member states, offering businesses access to a wider regional market.