Share

Oil and gas should be priority for SADC - Zuma

Cape Town – The discovery and use of natural gas should form the backbone of regional economic integration among the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries, said President Jacob Zuma.

The President was delivering the closing statement at the 37th Ordinary SADC Summit with the theme, Partnering with the Private Sector in developing Industry and Regional Value Chains, in Pretoria on Sunday.

Zuma has been elected to take over the reins as new SADC chair from King Mswati III of Swaziland. 

READ: SADC slated on its values

Member states of SADC are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In his speech, Zuma welcomed the decision taken at the ten-day long summit that the SADC Secretariat will oversee the establishment of a regional natural gas committee to promote the inclusion of gas in the regional energy mix and in the promotion of industrial development in the SADC region.

In Mozambique in particular the gas-to-power industry is gaining momentum as is evident from Sasol’s planned development of a 400MW gas-to-power plant in Maputo. This comes on the back of clear indications of a very healthy supply of gas in Mozambique.

South Africa on the other hand will soon start pursuing the exploration of shale gas resources in the Karoo basin. A report by the World Energy Council in partnership with Accenture showed that South Africa has significant potential for shale gas development, having the eighth biggest reserve of shale gas in the world.

READ: New R1.02bn gas facility to boost SA's supply 

In addition, a new Liquefied Petroleum Gas import and storage facility was recently launched near Saldanha Bay, which would alleviate South Africa's gas shortage and broaden its energy mix.

Zuma said one of the resolutions taken at the 37th summit is to have concrete outcomes so as to leverage the natural endowments in the region to change the structure of the economy through agro-processing, mineral beneficiation and pharmaceuticals. 

“Africa is the richest continent with the poorest people. Our heritage and endowment must be used to drive economic development for the benefit of all Africa’s citizens.”

Intra-regional trade

Zuma also emphasised the need to realise the SADC Integration through establishing free trade areas.

At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Durban in May this year, a number of discussions centred on the fact that African countries don’t make the most of intra-regional trade possibilities.

Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe told an audience in Cape Town last year that the level of trade among SADC countries only accounted for 12% of Africa’s total trade.

He said at the time that although it is laudable that SADC states had entered into various bilateral and multilateral trading agreements to promote the movement of goods, it was a “spaghetti bowl” of regional free trade areas and customs unions arrangements and that better harmonisation was needed. 

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.05
-0.8%
Rand - Pound
24.04
-0.6%
Rand - Euro
20.56
-0.4%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.37
-0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.8%
Platinum
899.20
+0.3%
Palladium
999.25
-0.3%
Gold
2,209.51
+0.7%
Silver
24.55
-0.4%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,080
+0.6%
All Share
74,278
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,967
+2.4%
Industrial 25
103,572
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,456
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders