What Sadc leaders discussed in Namibia

President Emmerson D Mnangagwa on August 17-18, 2018 joined fellow leaders from Southern Africa for the 38th Sadc Summit of Heads of State and Government in Windhoek, Namibia. The following is the Communique issued at the end of the Summit.

*** 1.The 38th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) was held at Safari Court Conference, in Windhoek, the Republic of Namibia, on 17th and 18th August 2018.

2.Summit was attended by the following Heads of State and Government and/ or their representatives:

Angola: HE President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco

Botswana: HE President Mokgweetsi Masisi

DRC: HE President Joseph Kabila Kabange Mozambique: HE Felipe Jacinto Nyusi Namibia: HE President Dr Hage G. Geingob Seychelles: HE President Danny Faure South Africa: HE President Cyril Ramaphosa

Zambia: HE President Edgar Chagwa Lungu

Zimbabwe: HE President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa

Lesotho: HE Right Hon Prime Minister Dr Motsoahe Thomas Thabane

Tanzania: HE Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan

Eswatini: HE Hon Senator Paul Dlamini, Deputy Prime Minister

Comoros: HE Hon Mohamed El Amine Souef, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Madagascar: HE Hon Dovo Eloi Maxine, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Malawi: HE Hon Dr Emmanuel Fabiano, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mauritius: Hon Mahen Kurmar Seeruttun, Minister of Agro Forestry and Food Security

3. Summit was also attended by HE Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, and the current Chairperson of the African Union.

4. HE Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, the Sadc Executive Secretary; HE Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and HE Dr Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa were all in attendance.

5. Summit also elected HE Dr Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, as Chairperson of Sadc, and HE Dr John Pombe Magufuli, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, as incoming Chairperson of Sadc.

6. Summit also elected HE Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the President of Zambia, as Chairperson of the Organ of Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, and HE Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, as incoming chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation.

7. Summit commended outgoing Chairperson of Sadc, HE Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa, for his exemplary leadership during his tenure.

8. Summit endorsed the 38th Sadc Summit theme of “Promoting Infrastructure Development and Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development”, as the 2018/2019 theme, which takes forward the Sadc industrialisation agenda, while focusing on infrastructure development, youth empowerment and sustainable development.

9. Summit approved the operationalisation of the Sadc University of Transformation, in the form of a virtual university, to focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, commercialisation, technology transfer, enterprise development, digital and knowledge economy, to support the Sadc industrialisation agenda.

10. Summit noted the progress in the implementation of the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2015-2020, and urged Member States to focus on implementing priority activities within the approved frameworks of the Revised RISDP, and their policy documents, including the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap, Regional Infrastructure Development Masterplan, the Regional Agricultural Investment Plan, and then Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Co-operation.

11. Summit noted progress made in the implementation of Sadc industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063, and urged Member States to remain committed to the implementation of the Sadc industrialisation agenda, as the overarching priority for the region.

12. Sadc reviewed the Sadc regional economic performance and urged Member States to scale up efforts aimed at diversifying their economies, improve domestic revenue collection mechanisms, and manage public expenditures.

13. Summit noted overall decline in food production in the region, for the 2017/2018 crop season, and urged Member States to put in place measures to tackle food insecurity in the region, while developing contingency plans to enhance drought preparedness, in view of the likelihood of adverse El Nino-induced conditions during the 2018/2019 cropping season.

14. Summit noted that the Union of Comoros has deposited her instrument of Accession, and commended Union of Comoros for acceding to the Sadc Treaty and becoming a full member of Sadc.

15. Summit reaffirmed Sadc position that the current African, Caribbean and Pacific negotiations and decision-making governance structure be maintained.

16. Summit urged Member States that have not yet signed/ratified the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement to do so, and urged Member States to expeditiously finalise the exchange of tariff offers, and pave the way for the implementation of the TFTA.

17. Summit endorsed the 23rd of March as the day for commemorating the Southern Africa Liberation Day.

18. Summit noted that the Sadc Solidarity Conference with the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic will be held in October/ November 2018, to be hosted by the Republic of South Africa.

19. Summit noted progress in addressing Sadc proposals on the ongoing Institutional Reform of the African Union, reiterated its commitment towards the reforms, and called for continued consultations with a view to addressing the outstanding issues. Summit mandated the chairperson of Sadc to fast track these consultations.

20. Summit thanked HE Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda and Chairperson of the African Union, for accepting Sadc’s invitation and for attending the 38th Summit of the Sadc Heads of State and Government, and for his continued commitment and leadership towards the implementation of the AU institutional reforms.

21. Summit noted with concern that despite a number of Sadc initiatives in the Kingdom of Lesotho, progress on the implementation of the reforms roadmap and national dialogue remains very low.

22. Summit urged the Kingdom of Lesotho and all stakeholders to ensure that the National Leaders Forum, scheduled for 23-24 August 2018 takes place as planned, and called upon all stakeholders, include those who reside outside, to participate.

23. Summit resolved not to further entertain any further delays in the implementation of Reforms of National Dialogue, and called upon Sadc Member States to take necessary measures against those with intentions to delay, or threaten to derail Reforms and National Dialogue processes.

24. Summit urged the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho to put in place a programme with clear milestones for the implementation of priority activities on the Reforms Roadmap and National Dialogue, while recognising that the SADC Preventing Mission in Lesotho tenure end in November 2018, a report of which is submitted to the chairperson of the Organ by 30th October 2018.

25. Summit thanked HE Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and Facilitator to the Kingdom of Lesotho, supported by the Facilitation Team, for his continued facilitation in the Kingdom of Lesotho.

26. Summit commended HE President Joseph Kabila and the Government of the Republic of Congo for upholding the constitution of the Republic of Congo, and noted that the Government of the DRC will continue to provide necessary funding and logistical requirements to enable the conduct of peaceful and credible elections.

27. Summit commended the Government of Madagascar and political stakeholders for reaching an agreement that facilitated the appointment of the new Prime Minister HE Christian Ntsay, and the formation of a consensus government, and urged political stakeholders to ensure that the upcoming elections take place in a peaceful environment.

28. Summit commended HE Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique, and Sadc Special Envoy to Madagascar for his effective mediation efforts in the Republic of Madagascar.

29. Summit congratulated Member States that held elections since the last summit in August 2017, namely the Republic of Angola and the Republic of Zimbabwe, and congratulated HE President Joao Manuel Gonclaves Lourenco and for the Popular Liberation of Angola party for winning the elections, and called upon all stakeholders in Zimbabwe to remain calm while the legal process regarding the outcome of the election are being considered by the courts, and to respect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

30. Summit urged the international community to lift all sanctions against Zimbabwe, and support the Republic of Zimbabwe in her economic and social development efforts.

31. Summit commended HE Joao Manuel Gonclaves Lourencio, the President of the Republic of Angola an outgoing chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security for his outstanding leadership in steering issues of the Organ during his tenure.

32. Summit approved the Declaration on Eliminating Malaria in the Sadc region to firmly place regional malaria elimination on the agenda of all Member States.

33. Summit noted that the tenure of Ms Emile Ayaza Mushobekwa, the current Sadc Deputy Executive Secretary (Corporate Affairs), is ending in October 2018, and thanked her for the services rendered to the Secretariat and Sadc.

34. Summit approved the appointment of Ambassador Joseph Andre Nourrice, from Seychelles, for the position of Sadc Deputy Secretary (Corporate Affairs).

35. The Ordinary Summit was officially closed by Sadc Chairperson, HE President Dr Hage G Geingob, who thanked all the Heads of State and Government for attending the 38th Ordinary Summit of Sadc Heads of State and Government.

36. Summit expressed its appreciation to the Government and the People of the Republic of Namibia for successfully hosting the 38th Ordinary Summit and for the hospitality during the Summit period.