Story by Margaret Matibiri
AFRICAN countries must urgently move from exporting raw materials to building value-added industries that drive economic growth and resilience, Botswana President Advocate Duma Boko has said.
Addressing delegates as he officially opened the 66th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo on Thursday, President Boko said Africa must reposition its economic model to prioritise industrialisation and value creation.
“We must move Africa from being a supplier of raw materials, a continent from which ore is exported in its raw form, into a global centre of value creation. This requires deliberate investment in sectors such as mining beneficiation, agro-processing, renewable energy, manufacturing, tourism, and the digital economy,” he said.
President Boko highlighted that strengthening regional value chains is critical to unlocking the continent’s full economic potential.
“We must leverage each other’s strengths in developing regional and global value chains… Africa has made, and continues to make, commendable strides in establishing frameworks for economic integration,” he said.
However, he noted that intra-African trade remains low and requires urgent attention.
“We must candidly acknowledge that intra-African trade remains at a disproportionately low level of 15%. We are not trading with each other enough; there is more that we must do,” he added.
The Botswana leader also called for decisive action to remove barriers hindering trade and investment across the continent.
“During the 5th Session of the Bi-National Commission in Harare yesterday, President Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa and I jointly acknowledged the urgent need to dismantle persistent barriers to trade and investment. We must, as a matter of urgency, remove all known tariff and non-tariff barriers, including customs and border inefficiencies, regulatory misalignment, administrative bottlenecks, and infrastructure deficits,” he said.
President Boko further stressed the need to translate policy frameworks into tangible outcomes.
“The imperative before us is very clear: we must transition from frameworks to function, from agreements to action, and from word to deed,” he said.
He described the ZITF as a critical platform for advancing regional trade and industrial collaboration.
“This event, the ZITF, has for over six decades served as a cornerstone for trade, investment, and industrial collaboration… It reminds us that while national ambition is essential, regional collaboration is indispensable as we work towards the realisation of the full benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” said President Boko.
This year’s edition is running under the theme: “Connected Economies, Competitive Industries.”
