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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke-Senior Reporter

ZIMBABWE has taken over the chairmanship of the SADC Council of Ministers from Angola, ahead of the 44th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government where President Mnangagwa will assume the bloc’s chairmanship.

The handover ceremony, held yesterday at the SADC Council of Ministers’ meeting at the new Parliament Building in Mount Hampden, will see Zimbabwe lead the organisation’s efforts in fostering development and integration.

In his acceptance speech, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister and new Council of Ministers’ chairperson, Ambassador Frederick Shava, pledged to prioritise food security and the restoration of regional peace and stability during Zimbabwe’s tenure as chair.

He also stressed the need to promote innovation while creating opportunities for the present and future generations through sustainable regional industrialisation and economic growth.

“The region is endowed with abundant resources which are essential for our growth if we can take advantage of the young, educated and trained youth force who possess the much-needed technological skills to spearhead our economic development. 

“The mainstreaming of our youth in the regional development agenda will resultantly promote innovation and unlock opportunities through sustained economic growth and industrialisation,” he said.

Zimbabwe recently held the 7th annual SADC Industrialisation Week where private players and industrialists across all sectors of the economy had an opportunity to engage and exchange ideas on regional development.

Amb Shava said SADC’s Vision 2050 and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030 could not be achieved if the bloc did not take the private sector on board.

“We should commend ourselves for a sterling job on the strides we have made through the implementation of our development agenda. We have made commendable progress for the year 2022/2023 despite the continued effects of Covid-19, climate-induced calamities such as drought and El Nino and epidemics like cholera and malaria,” he said.

Amb Shava commended the coming into force of the inter-governmental Memorandum of Agreement among SADC Member States for the establishment of the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC), which would be instrumental in addressing various disasters affecting the region.

He also called for all Member States to continue fostering the regional development plan anchored on the foundation of peace, security, and good governance.

“Peace and stability are fundamental ingredients for a regional transformative agenda: without them, our aspirations and vision will be gravely compromised. It is in this vein that we bemoan the impact of terrorist-induced conflicts in some parts of our region. We hope that the negative forces in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique and in eastern DRC will succumb to our collective will for normalcy to prevail in those troubled regions. The loss of lives, displacement of our citizens, and the destruction of infrastructure work against our vision towards progress and prosperity,” Amb Shava said.

Outgoing chair of the Council of Ministers and Angola’s Minister of External Relations, Ambassador Téte António, said under Angola’s chairmanship, the region had recorded several achievements guided by the theme of the 43rd SADC Summit; “Human capital and financial capital; major factors for sustainable industrialisation in the SADC region”.

“Under the theme’s implementation, special attention was accorded to the need for our region to have skilled and competent labour capable of promoting innovation, driving productivity and also fostering our regional industrialisation agenda. As such, the process of industrialisation of the University of Transformation is ongoing. The establishment of the Transformation University in SADC will serve to strengthen access to education, and improve quality and relevance to education for national priorities whilst enhancing the offer of relevant and critical skills to the benefit of the labour market. It will also provide a database of knowledge that is much wider for the region and strengthen collaboration amongst the higher education institutions,” he said.

Amb António said peace, security and stability were pre-requirements for the materialisation of the objectives of a more peaceful, integrated and prosperous region.

He also commended Zimbabwe’s efforts during preparations to host the SADC Summit and appealed for the removal of sanctions against the country.

 “This is also an opportunity for us to reiterate our appeal for the lifting of the embargo that burdens this sister country, taking into account the aftermaths not only for Zimbabwe but also for regional integration that we have since aimed at,” Amb Antonio said.

In his remarks, SADC secretariat executive secretary Mr Elias Magosi said the Council of Ministers’ meeting was an opportunity to pause and reflect and assess whether the region was progressing, stagnating or even regressing.

“SADC recognises that peace, security, and good governance provide pathways for integration and socio-economic development of the region. To this end, SADC continues to make timely interventions to consolidate peace and stability in the region. The deployment of missions in the Cabo Delgado Province of Northern Mozambique, and the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo are a response to the emergent threats to our cherished peace,” he said. 

“I am therefore pleased to report that the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM), which was deployed in July 2021 to support the Government of Mozambique to fight against terrorism and violent extremism in the Cabo Delgado Province, was successfully concluded on the 4th of July this year, with some recorded positive milestones in addressing the security situation in Cabo Delgado.  The mission managed to prevent further killings of the civilian population by degrading the operations of the terrorists through intensified patrols and operations.”

Mr Magosi said the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) was also deployed in December last year to support the Government of the DRC to restore peace and security, following an increase in conflicts and instability caused by the resurgence of armed groups.

He said industrial development and market integration remained one of the cornerstones of regional integration and development.

“Regarding regional monetary cooperation and integration, last year we commemorated the 10th Anniversary of the regional cross-border Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system. We are proud that, through this system, SADC Member States can settle cross-border transactions faster, without having to rely on intermediary banks from outside the region. This is one of SADC’s success stories in promoting cross-border payments across the region,” said Mr Magosi.

As of May this year, the total number of transactions settled through this system was estimated at ZAR 13.49 trillion, an equivalent of about US$ 701.88 billion. 

Mr Magosi encouraged member states to continue mobilising resources to support regional interventions in the areas of peace and security, trade, natural resources management, institutional capacity building, social and human development, economic integration, regional statistics, climate resilience, and transboundary water management.

He also said the Secretariat was committed to ensuring that the SADC Regional Development Fund (RDF) becomes fully operationalised to sustainably support the SADC integration and development agenda.