The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU Assembly) adopted the African Union Theme of the Year 2023 as the year for “ Acceleration of AfCFTA Implementation ”. The main objective of the theme of the year 2023 is to secure the commitment of all stakeholders to speed up the implementation of the AfCFTA and fast-track the overall economic integration of the continent. This theme justified the organization of the 5 th SADC Youth Forum from 25 th to 27 th July 2023 in Gaborone Botswana under the theme “Accelerating Regional Integration and Youth Participation in AfCFTA” by the Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF) in conjunction with Youth For Tax Justice Network (YTJN) and other partners . The SADC Youth Forum is the largest annual youth platform in Southern Africa hosted before the SADC Heads of State Summit to deliberate on critical issues affecting young people in the Southern Africa region. The forum is a solution-oriented platform to advance sustainable inclusion of youth and proffer solutions in line with Development Strategies formulated by Member states, SADC, Partners, United Nations, and the African Union. The 5 th SADC Youth Forum was preceded by the inaugural Regional Conference on Youth (R-COY) which aimed at deepening the understanding, exploring innovative solutions, and enhancing regional coordination to address climate change negative impacts effectively in the run up to the Conference of Parties (COP28). The Conference noted that mitigation and adaptation of climate change risks require financing. That the fight against illicit financial flows and bolstering efforts to promote domestic resource mobilization is instrumental to availing resources required to tackle the harmful effects of climate change in the Southern Africa region. The Conference recommended that Countries in the global north should give more grants, not loans to countries in the global south to repair the loss and damage occasioned by climate change and adapt to climate change impacts since they are responsible for over 50% of emissions that cause climate change in Africa. In her opening remarks during the official opening ceremony of the 5 th SADC Youth Forum, Her Excellency Boemo Sekgoma, the Secretary General of the SADC Parliamentary Forum made a commitment that the SADC Parliamentary Forum and its organs will endeavor to mainstream and champion youth interests within the implementation of the AfCFTA especially by developing strong frameworks which ensure youth inclusion and participation. Jon Kafuko, the Programs Manager, YTJN delivered a presentation on the AfCFTA draft Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade where he highlighted the key provisions therein and emphasized the need for Partner States to the AfCFTA to harmonize the financial incentives granted to the Youth and Women led Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to prevent the competition for foreign direct investment which would derail States of the much needed resources to fund their budgets. In the same vein, Her Excellency Cynthia Chigwenya the Africa Union Youth Ambassador for Peace for Southern Africa facilitated a session where the forum agreed that Partner States need to harmonize their trade policies in order to foster regional integration. During the YTJN panel discussion, Samantha Kanoyangwa, a Policy Assistant working with the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) urged Partner States to the AfCFTA to double their domestic resource mobilization efforts in order to sustainably deal with the elimination of tariff barriers brought about by the implementation of the AfCFTA and also be able to contribute to the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund and also to reduce the dependency on debt and grants to fund their budgets. Dr. Ndlovu Lindani, an Industrialization and Trade Consultant based in Botswana, stressed that for youth to meaningfully benefit from the implementation of the AfCFTA, they have to develop skills which are relevant in the job market. He hastened to add that the Partner States to the AfCFTA have to invest in increasing production and value addition to products and investing in employment opportunities creation for the youth. In conclusion, Dr. Gondo Misheck the Regional Coordinator for the SAYoF committed to have the outcomes of the forum shared with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the SADC Parliamentary Forum. #5thSADCYouthForum #NothingForUsWithoutUs
