South Corridor under the Presidential Infrastructure Championship Initiative (PICI), which is a sub-programme of the NEPAD’s Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). These projects promote regional interconnectivity and accelerate the rate of trade in the region. In an updated report presented at the AU Summit in July 2012, President Zuma highlighted that, of the nine priority projects that South Africa is championing, seven are now in pre-finance phase, while two are fully funded and in implementation phase and only require monitoring going forward. Through this initiative, the Presidency coordinates the support coming from the Development Bank Southern Africa (DBSA), Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), NT, private sector and other stakeholders. This is a huge catalyst for acceleration in the integration process. In the period under review, SADC Heads of State also approved the SADC Infrastructure Master Plan. The plan is to be implemented over a 15 year period and will serve as a key strategy to guide the setting up of efficient and cost-effective trans-boundary infrastructure connecting all SADC member states in the areas of energy, water, ICT and transport. The new plan will put emphasis on the cross border infrastructure that South Africa identifies in its own Strategic Infrastructure Plan. Diplomatic engagements with key countries in the region have intensified, leading to growth in a number of bilateral relations with political significance both for the regional stability agenda and South Africa’s economic interests. MoUs were signed with partner countries in Africa. The DTI provided the economic content for eight government-to-government engagements. Six trade and investment facilitation missions were undertaken, and technical co-operation arrangements were facilitated with three African country partners. With the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO), the DTI led efforts to improve co-ordination of South Africa’s infrastructure development programme on the continent, notably in respect of the North-South Corridor under the NEPAD framework. Further, diversification of the South African economy from its heavy dependence on commodity to manufactured exports, together with the improvement of regional integration and investment into new economic infrastructure that facilitates intra-African trade, is crucial to respond to the current global economic developments. It is for these reasons that South Africa is playing a prominent role in efforts to strengthen trade and economic integration in Africa – hence the Tripartite Initiative made up of SADC, the EAC and COMESA was launched in South Africa 2011. Such efforts suggest that while South Africa’s economic links with traditional developed countries remain important, its prospects for growth and development will increasingly depend on diversifying and strengthening its economic links with dynamic economies of the South, particularly those of Southern Africa. 3.2.3 Unemployment Since 1994, extensive efforts have been undertaken to address the root causes of unemployment as well as to create greater opportunities for job creation to absorb the unemployed. To a large extent, South Africa suffers from structural unemployment resulting from a mismatch between workers skills and the skills needed for available jobs due to factors like the inappropriate quality of education. In addition, South Africa has a competitive advantage in the primary and secondary sectors (agriculture, mining and manufacturing); however data reflects that the country has shifted 54