“We will realise the Cape-to-Cairo trade corridor, and it begins here in the Eastern Cape.”
Minister Parks Tau said this during the recent Eastern Cape Export Symposium held in KuGompo City.
The minister was referring to the long-held idea of creating a trade route that connects all of Africa, by connecting Cape Town to Cairo.
The utility of this trade corridor is painfully obvious. However, achieving it is just as challenging.
For many South Africans who grew up during the struggle against apartheid, this reminded us of the ideas of pan-Africanism.
While the Cape-to-Cairo slogan might have referred to ownership, today it has expanded dramatically.
The decades since political freedom have made it clear that ownership on its own delivers little besides emotional satisfaction. Even that quickly fades.
It is through painful experience that we now know that ownership of our countries is merely the beginning.
The real responsibility is to develop our countries so that trade is not only possible, but easy and inevitable.
At the end of this value chain is the very thing that many political movements hoped to achieve, serving the needs of our people.
It has become clear that states cannot possibly deliver this.
However, they can deliver an environment that facilitates the development of economies that make the satisfaction of human needs possible.
This proposed trade corridor between the giants of intra-Africa trade, Egypt and SA, regardless of who it comes from or which political party they come from, is a great proposal.
Its achievement is not dependent merely on finding the resources needed to complete such an ambitious project.
It will require massive coordination which many African countries struggle with even internally.
Yet, the changing geopolitical environment in the global economy demands exactly this type of organised trade in Africa.
It is perhaps ironic that even the colonialists who, at one time, took over Africa as their own, appreciated the utility of establishing such overarching trade routes.
For our countries it is this utility that we must focus on.
The efforts of our countries must go far beyond the rhetoric of attaining high levels of intra-Africa trade to make it happen.
Though there are serious challenges such as funding, ongoing conflicts and varying administrative protocols, there are efforts underway.
The African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) signed by all African countries, save for Eritrea, is one of the important efforts that align to these efforts.
AfCFTA is what would let an Eastern Cape manufacturer ship to Cairo without paying the tariffs that currently make it uncompetitive to export to Egypt.
The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa serves as a masterplan to co-ordinate cross border transport, energy and ICT projects that provide the physical networks to carry intra-Africa trade.
Between just these two efforts, one clears the paperwork and the other builds the road.
“The Eastern Cape sits at the centre of our industrialisation and export diversification agenda.
“Its automotive, agro-processing and ocean economy sectors, anchored by industrial infrastructure such as the Coega Special Economic Zone and East London Industrial Development Zone, give the province the depth to compete globally and to help us broaden our export base beyond traditional markets.
“As global trade conditions shift, strengthening these local export capabilities and connecting more of our enterprises, particularly small and black-owned businesses, to international markets is central to building a more resilient and inclusive economy.”
Minister Tau inserts the Eastern Cape into this wider network of Africa’s developmental initiatives.
The Eastern Cape has established some of the most successful Special Economic Zones (SEZ) such as the Coega SEZ in Gqeberha and the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ).
The experience collected by these industrial zones will serve as a springboard to the envisaged bilateral agreement with Egypt.
The strategic initiative to bring the two end points to the planned corridor significantly increases the chances of success.
The proposed establishment of similar industrial zones in Egypt makes great structural sense and will result in real economic benefit for both Egypt and SA.
If the way the recent Southern Africa Development Community Summit tackled Africa’s immigration problems is any indication, perhaps African leaders are beginning to wake up.
This is why the coming local government elections matter.
A Cape-to-Cairo corridor is possible only if the municipality can keep the lights on at Coega and the ELIDZ.
It is critical that we appoint parties which have a clear appreciation of the role played by municipalities in greater economic development.
We can no longer treat municipalities as feeding troughs for the politically connected.
Daily Dispatch
Editorial Comment
www.dailydispatch.co.za