SA takes SADC helm with push for bigger regional trade

Patience Makwele

South Africa has taken over the chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) with a push to raise intra-regional trade to 50% and extract greater economic value from the region’s critical mineral wealth.

South Africa’s minister of international relations and cooperation, Ronald Lamola, made the commitment on Wednesday in Durban when he formally accepted the SADC Council of Ministers chairmanship for 2026–2027.

Lamola said South Africa’s tenure would focus on four priorities: peace and security, industrialisation, infrastructure development, and social and human capital development.

At the centre of the industrialisation agenda is a drive to move SADC economies beyond exporting raw materials and towards beneficiation, regional value chains and increased trade among member states.

“Minerals are not wealth until knowledge transforms them,” Lamola said, warning that the region’s mineral abundance would not automatically translate into prosperity.

The SADC region holds nearly 30% of the world’s proven critical mineral reserves, including about half of global cobalt reserves and 20% of graphite reserves, according to Lamola.