SADC Secretariat tours August summit venue
Story by Bruce Chahwanda, Political Editor
THE SADC Secretariat team which is in the country to assess the facilities that will be used for the 44th SADC summit scheduled for August this year has been impressed by the venues.
The team toured the majestic New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden, the main venue for the SADC Summit set to be hosted by Zimbabwe in August this year.
The summit will see the country take over the chairmanship of the regional trading bloc.
The tour was guided by Deputy Chief Secretary Coordination of National Programmes and Projects, Engineer Amos Marawa alongside Clerk of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Chokuda, among other senior government officials.
Apart from the main venue, the SADC Secretariat was also at the University of Zimbabwe where a Public Lecture will be delivered, as well as some of the hotel facilities which will house delegates.
SADC Deputy Executive Secretary Corporate Affairs, Dr Judith Kateera said the team has been impressed by the venue.
“We toured the venue for about two hours and went around to inspect the entire progress. It is a majestic building which we really appreciate very much. We have identified where the official opening and closing will take place. There are rooms available for our heads of state as holding rooms, meals and so forth. The Secretariat will also have a dedicated place for documentation and operations to facilitate the smooth running of the summit. In a nutshell, we are very happy. On the health side, we inspected areas where in case of emergencies, we would use within the venue, so we are very happy,” she said.
The team will also tour airports, some hotels and the Museum of African Liberation where Heads of State will also visit during the summit.
