Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called on Southern African leaders to prioritise value addition to the region’s critical raw minerals before exporting them, arguing that such efforts would strengthen economies and ensure more benefits remain within the region.
Speaking at the 45th Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government in Madagascar, her first since being elected in November 2024, President Nandi-Ndaitwah said the region could not achieve its long-term goals while faced with persistent socio-economic challenges.
“Equally, there is a compelling need to enhance value addition to our region’s critical raw minerals, including through regional value chains, before they are exported beyond the SADC region. By doing so, we will strengthen our economies, create jobs, and retain more benefits from our natural resources,” she said.
The Namibian President warned that the region’s aspirations would remain out of reach unless hunger, youth unemployment and inequality were addressed. “I address you today, to reaffirm a critical truth: the objectives of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2030–2050 and the SADC Vision 2050 cannot be realised when our people are confronted by hunger, high youth unemployment and other socio-economic challenges,” President Nandi-Ndaitwah told the summit.
She stressed the importance of equipping young people with skills in ICT, digital innovation and the creative industries to enable them to compete globally. On security, she raised concern over instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, warning that it remained a threat to SADC’s development aspirations.
Referring to the summit’s theme, Advancing Industrialisation, Agricultural Transformation, and Energy Transition for a Resilient SADC, the Namibian President urged member states to tackle food insecurity with urgency. She said the goal must be to make food security “a reality in every home across the region, rather than just a goal on paper.”
Her address also highlighted the empowerment of women. She pointed to Namibia’s launch of the International Women’s Peace Centre and called on SADC states to work together in advancing gender equality across the region.
