The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, recently visited Kinshasa, capital of the DRC   where she participated in the meeting of the South African and DRC Bi-National Commission and  held  talks with her DRC counterpart and met representatives of South African businesses operating in the DRC. She gave a magnificent talk in which she said : ” I believe the AfCFTA ( African Continental Free Trade Area/Agreement) will be a catalyst towards the pursuit of beneficial economic integration within the continent.” She defined her statement by insisting that :

– AFRICA MUST MANUFACTURE WITHIN AFRICA AND SELL WITHIN AFRICA

–  VALUE ADDITION TO NATURAL RESOURCES WITHIN THE CONFINES OF OUR CONTINENT

“Everybody is running after the rare mineral resources of the DRC but they ( foreign mining companies) are not establishing factories in the DRC. DON`T SIGN ANY AGREEMENT IF PRODUCTION IS NOT TO HAPPEN HERE ( in the DRC). We must refuse! We must ensure value addition, mineral benificiation happens within Africa!”

Minister Pandor highlighted the importance of STATE OWNED ENTITIES being represented at such events “because these are important vehicles for the development of our countries”………….”DRC must become a trusted partner of South Africa and South Africa must become a trusted partner of the DRC”……….”We spend too much time trusing others outside the continent and not enough time trusting ourselves”

“Our main vision is to see real changes in our peoples livelihoods……….allowing our people to remain poor is to keep them in a prison of a lack of advancement. So we must change the condition of our people so that they are free to realize their full abilities.”

Source: Make Afrika Great

5 July 2032