Keynote address by the Deputy President Shipokosa Paulus Mashatile on the occasion of Nepad@25 Years - High-Level Business Breakfast, Century City Conference Centre, Cape Town

Programme Director, Mr Linton Mchunu;

Your Excellency, Former President of the Republic of South Africa, President Thabo Mbeki;

The Chairperson of the AU Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, represented by Honourable Phillipus Katamelo, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia and Member of the PAP;

The Chief Executive Officer of the African Union Development Agency AUDA-NEPAD, H.E. Nardos Bekele-Thomas;

UNISA Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Puleng LenkaBula;

Distinguished Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Members of Parliament, represented here this morning,

Leaders of Political Parties and Representatives of Regional Economic Communities,

Our valued development partners from the private sector, civil society, and the diaspora,

Recipient of Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, Jonathan Butler;

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Morning,

Twenty-five years ago, in Abuja, President Thabo Mbeki stood before Africa and the world and declared that the tasks we face on the continent are the same as those we face at home: poverty, underdevelopment, marginalisation, illiteracy, disease, and instability.

Many of us could still recall the great African giants who were there, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, all nodding in affirmation, bearing witness to a truth that bound us together.

In that hour, NEPAD was born as Africa’s own pledge. It was born to promote accelerated growth and sustainable development, to eradicate widespread and severe poverty, and to halt the marginalisation of Africa in the globalisation process.

As we mark Africa Month and celebrate twenty-five years of NEPAD, we return to that founding vision: an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena. This vision, rooted in Pan-Africanism, is driven by the goal of empowering the continent to control its own destiny.

We gather today at a time when South Africa has, over the past few weeks, observed acts of violence against foreign nationals. While acknowledging concerns about illegal foreign nationals involved in crime, we strongly condemn the anti-migrant protests and xenophobic violence and urge law enforcement to address these issues through legal means, not mob violence. 

These violent acts, as mentioned by President Cyril Ramaphosa, are shameful and do not reflect the views of South Africans or government policy. We must therefore, stand together as government, traditional authorities, civil society, and migrant communities to combat this violence. Such collaboration is crucial in affirming the dignity of all African lives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, AUDA-NEPAD functions as the main execution arm of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The Agency emphasises the importance of African self-determination and focuses on building democratic societies, enhancing intra-African trade, and utilising local resources for development.

To foster a new development consensus, AUDA-NEPAD identifies three essential pillars: regional integration to strengthen unity and economic collaboration; African ownership, promoting the idea that Africa's future should be shaped by its own people; and continental renewal to ensure democracy, industrialisation, and social cohesion, which are vital for peace and dignity.

This consensus links the promise of Abuja to the aspirations of Agenda 2063, emphasising the need for renewed energy and bold leadership. It advocates for deepened regional integration with the African Continental Free Trade Area as a foundation for prosperity, affirming African ownership of resources and policies. The AUDA-NEPAD serves as a key instrument to bridge vision and implementation, ensuring that Africa's development is driven from within rather than imposed externally.

However, we must also acknowledge that progress has not always occurred at the pace or scale required to transform the material conditions of our people. Significant gaps remain in infrastructure development, industrialisation, productive capacity, energy access, logistics, digital connectivity, implementation capability, and regional economic integration. This moment, therefore, calls upon us to move beyond reflection and toward practical conversations about delivery at scale.

As the special envoy to South Sudan, I have directly observed the profound desire for peace among its people. This yearning is not a far-off goal, but a daily hope reflected in their voices and expressions. They look to us for mediation and solidarity to ensure that peace is swiftly achieved. Their longing for peace is rooted in years of conflict and displacement, yet it is fuelled by a steadfast belief in the potential for renewal. 

The people of South Sudan convey that peace encompasses not just the absence of war, but also the presence of dignity, opportunity, and reconciliation. Their hope serves as a compelling call to action, urging us to transcend divisions and prioritise the future of their children in our endeavours.

South Africa’s call for peace extends far beyond our own borders, far beyond South Sudan, and far beyond the continent. We call for peace in Europe, where the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to claim lives and destabilise the global order. We call for peace in the Middle East, where the struggle between Israel and Palestine, and the wider tensions across the region, demand dialogue, justice, and reconciliation. We call for peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where instability has robbed generations of the security they deserve. We call for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where communities long for an end to violence and the chance to rebuild their lives.

Our history teaches us that peace is possible, even after decades of war, oppression and struggle. Our future demands that we never tire in the pursuit of peace, for it is the promise we owe to Africa and to humanity.

South Africa emphasises that peace and development are linked to dialogue and partnership, as demonstrated by the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC). This platform unites government, business, labour, and civil society to shape policies that promote inclusive growth and social justice, highlighting that development should be participatory and prosperity shared through consensus.

This spirit of dialogue is not confined to South Africa. It is the same spirit that must animate Africa’s continental agenda. Just as NEDLAC connects diverse voices to build a common path for national progress, so too must Africa connect its regions, its economies, and its people to build a common path for continental renewal.

Africa’s market boasts more than 1.4 billion people across fifty-four countries. The African Continental Free Trade Area represents the largest free trade area in the world by population and presents a historic opportunity to reshape Africa’s economic future. Yet intra-African trade still accounts for only approximately 15 percent of total African trade, which remains insufficient for a continent seeking genuine economic sovereignty and long-term resilience. Africa cannot continue exporting raw materials while importing finished products at a higher value, because this model exports jobs, industrial capacity, technological upgrading, and opportunity outside the continent. 

To this end, the African Continental Free Trade Area presents one of the most catalytic opportunities available to the continent today. By strengthening the movement of goods, services, capital, people, innovation, and technology across borders, Africa has the opportunity to build stronger regional value chains, expand industrial production, lower the costs of trade, attract investment, and ensure that African wealth increasingly circulates within the continent. 

African ownership becomes meaningful when our developmental ambitions are translated into practical delivery through infrastructure, logistics, industrialisation, financing mechanisms, and capable institutions.

Connecting Africa for development means breaking down barriers that fragment our economies, investing in infrastructure that links our markets, and empowering our people with skills and opportunities that transcend borders. To improve trade under AfCFTA, AUDA-NEPAD must enhance customs systems by digitising and harmonising border procedures with the AfCFTA Secretariat, establishing compliance timelines and penalties.

The future of Africa depends on beneficiation, manufacturing, processing, logistics integration, energy cooperation, and digital industrialisation. It requires African economies to move up the value chain by producing more of what they consume and processing more of what they extract. According to StatAfric, energy insecurity and infrastructure deficits continue to drag down the manufacturing and distribution efficiency. Closing this energy gap would require an estimated R3,16 trillion annually, with less than half of the African population having reliable access to electricity.

More than half of Africa’s energy supply relies on fossil fuels, leaving businesses vulnerable to volatile energy markets and risks during the global energy transition. In 2023, renewable energy investment in Africa totalled around R247.5 billion – only 2.3% of global renewable energy investment.

Many African countries continue to be net food importers while having the potential for greater agricultural production. Rapid urbanisation is underway, which is changing the demand patterns towards more processed foods and changing consumer purchasing towards supermarkets. Imports of food have supported urbanisation in the absence of a domestic agricultural surplus. However, food in African cities is around 35% more expensive. If food production is not treated as an industrialisation question to manufacture and supply the processed food products demanded by urban consumers, African countries will record growing trade shortages in processed food products.

The next phase of Africa’s growth must therefore be driven by productive transformation, stronger regional value chains, and deeper continental integration that keeps wealth, production, innovation, and investment circulating within Africa. 
Addressing these constraints requires a coherent policy framework that promotes skills development, productivity, investment, infrastructure improvement, technology transfer, and competitive standards in international markets.

Programme director, I must reiterate that achieving the goals of Agenda 2063 requires viewing regional integration as a practical endeavour rather than just a policy exercise. South Africa, in its chairpersonship of the Agenda 2063 Ministerial Follow-up Committee, will continue overseeing the implementation, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of our continent’s fifty-year development blueprint.

Our chairpersonship coincides with the Decade of Acceleration (2024–2033), the period of the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan. The technical foundation has been laid, but critical gaps remain. South Africa intends to use its chairpersonship to close them. It is our vision that South Africa contributes to building integrated African value chains connected to ports, rail corridors, logistics hubs, energy systems, digital infrastructure, and manufacturing ecosystems. Our automotive sector, mineral beneficiation capabilities, renewable energy transition, financial institutions, agro-processing capacity, and growing digital economy can all serve as anchors for regional integration and industrial expansion. South Africa must therefore continue championing an African development model that moves beyond commodity extraction toward value addition, industrial growth, and productive transformation. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Successfully "stitching together" the continent hinges on the expansion of logistical networks, including high-capacity, interconnected road corridors that facilitate the movement of goods and people, transforming isolated economies into a competitive market. Moreover, African leadership and priorities must shape development, emphasising the role of the private sector and financial institutions. African capital needs to partner with AUDA-NEPAD in constructing critical infrastructure. 

Regional integration cannot exist without modern infrastructure. Africa, therefore, requires accelerated investment in transport corridors, rail modernisation, ports and logistics systems, energy transmission infrastructure, broadband connectivity, and digital public infrastructure. Infrastructure is not simply a technical matter; it is the foundation of competitiveness, industrialisation, and regional trade. Without efficient logistics systems, African producers cannot compete effectively. Without reliable energy, industrialisation cannot occur at scale. Without digital connectivity, Africa risks exclusion from the future global economy. 

The evolving geopolitical environment, changing global trade patterns, technological disruption, debt pressures, and climate-related vulnerabilities all require Africa to rethink how it positions itself within the global economy while protecting its developmental interests and advancing Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.

Speaking of development finance institutions, Africa must therefore continue advocating for reform of the global financial architecture, including fairer representation within the IMF and World Bank, debt restructuring mechanisms, and financing models that recognise the developmental realities and vulnerabilities of the Global South.

This platform is therefore both timely and necessary because it allows leaders from government, business, development finance institutions, academia, regional bodies, and strategic partners to reflect on what must now be done differently to accelerate implementation and strengthen delivery. 

African countries must strengthen domestic resource mobilisation, regional development finance institutions, sovereign wealth mobilisation, and blended infrastructure financing mechanisms. African development must increasingly be financed on African terms and guided by African developmental priorities. This requires stronger coordination between governments, development finance institutions, private investors, and regional institutions capable of supporting long-term productive investment.

As we gather in this moment, we must also recognise that Africa’s unity is a strategic necessity in a world increasingly defined by new poles of power. In this growing multipolar order, where global dynamics are reshaped by competition and consolidation, Africa cannot afford fragmentation or isolation. Our strength lies in solidarity, in speaking with one voice, and in pursuing shared objectives that transcend borders.

This roundtable therefore aims to forge a new consensus for NEPAD's initiatives, emphasising the necessity of execution. By developing infrastructure through our resources, we are not just improving connectivity; we are laying the groundwork for a unified and prosperous Africa.

Esteemed Guests, 

South Africa’s approach to international relations and continental engagement remains guided by its national interest, which is fundamentally rooted in advancing the development and prosperity of its people through inclusive economic growth, sustainable industrialisation, regional cooperation, and strategic partnerships that produce tangible developmental outcomes. 

In this regard, South Africa remains committed to ensuring that its partnerships with African institutions, development finance institutions, strategic global partners, and the private sector deliver practical outcomes that improve the lives of ordinary citizens, strengthen implementation capacity, expand economic opportunity, and contribute meaningfully toward sustainable development across the African continent. 

Now is the time to build on the native land. Not tomorrow, Not next year, but Now!

Thank you, Asante Sana, Obrigado, Inkomu.