Story by Oleen Ndori, Foreign Editor
THE Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has begun at the New Parliament Building in Hampden.
The SADC Council is expected to review the status of implementation of previous Council and Summit decisions.
In his opening remarks, SADC Executive Secretary, His Excellency Elias Magosi, noted that peace, security, and response to the adverse effects of climate change remain key in ensuring socio-political and economic growth for the regional bloc.
“Peace and security remain critical to our region’s integration and economic development,” he said.
“In the spirit of solidarity and collective defence, we have been resolute in our efforts to find lasting peace and security in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The security and humanitarian situation in Eastern DRC remains precarious and worrisome to the region as a whole.
“We wish to reaffirm our commitment to the DRC’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. We also wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to the people of the DRC, Member States and families of the fallen heroes and heroines who lost their lives while serving in the SADC Mission in the DRC.”
Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers, Professor Amon Murwira weighed in, calling on member states to play their role in propelling operations of the regional bloc.
“Our regional programming and institutional structures continue to grow, allowing increasingly limited resources. Without sufficient financial support for our projects and structures, their effectiveness will continue to be undermined and susceptible to vulnerabilities associated with external funding.
“The recent policy shift by some of our traditional international corporate partners is a testament to this reality. Moments like these should embolden us to take full responsibility for our programmes and reduce the size of our problems. The development is a wake-up call every day that no one but ourselves would improve SADC and build the SADC we want,” Professor Murwira said.
The meeting was preceded by the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials and is also reviewing the progress that has been made in the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030.
