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Fungi Kwaramba

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has left the country for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he will join other heads of State and Government for the 42nd Sadc Summit, that is expected to tackle a host of challenges facing the region.

The President was seen off at the Robert Mugabe International Airport by his Deputy, Vice President Chiwenga, Defence and War Veterans Minister Oppah Muchinguri, Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Hon Kazembe Kazembe, Chief Secretary Dr Misheck Sibanda, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana, Service Chiefs and senior Government officials.

Before his departure the President had a tete a tete with Hon Kazembe and also chatted with Vice President Chiwenga.

Running under the theme “Promoting industrialisation through, agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, and regional value chains for inclusive and resilient economic growth”, the Summit is also expected to deal with cases of conflict in countries like DRC and Mozambique as well as map a way forward for the country’s development post the Covid-19 pandemic and shifting geopolitics.

The theme, that also resonates with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) continues with the industrialisation trajectory, as SADC has since 2014 held its summits under the industrialisation theme.

At the summit, President Felix Tshisekedi of DRC will become the SADC Chair, taking over from his Malawian counterpart President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera for a period of one year.

The SADC Summit is responsible for the overall policy direction and control of functions of the Community, ultimately making it the supreme policy-making institution of SADC.

The Summit is made up of all Heads of States or Government of SADC Member States and is managed on a Troika system that comprises the current SADC Summit Chairperson, the incoming Chairperson (the Deputy at the time), and the immediate previous Chairperson.

For the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa will hand over the Chair to the Namibian President Hage Geingob.

The SADC Organ on Politics Defence and Security Cooperation is also managed on a Troika basis and is responsible for promoting peace and security in the SADC region.

The SADC Summit Troika and the Organ Troika are separate bodies, and the Chairperson of the Organ does not simultaneously hold the chair of Summit, but both positions rotate on an annual basis.