SADC Executive Secretary: Francophone vs Anglophone
The tenure of Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, Executive Secretary of Southern African Development Community ( SADC) is coming to an end in August 2021.
She was appointed in 2013 and has served two terms as per Article 25 of the SADC Treaty.
The vacancy of this sought- after executive office of the regional body has culminated in a battle of languages in the Southern African Regional Economic Community ( REC).
Of all its six previous Executive Secretaries, SADC has never had a Francophone at the helm of this REC but alternates of Anglophones and Lusophones.
Thus, the candidacy of Faustin Luanga Mukela of Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC) and Elias Magosi of Botswana comes across as sparring between the Francophone and Anglophone respectively.
Interestingly DRC’s Mukela plied his trade from 1996 at the World Trade Organisation based in Geneva, which on face value gives him an edge as having interfaced with regional bodies through his illustrious career spanning over 25 years.
Magosi on the other hand, was the head of Botswana Civil Service as the Permanent Secretary to the President ( PSP) and currently Acting Ambassador at large and previously served as SADC’s head of human resources for a year from 2017 to 2018.
The curriculum vitae of the two candidates are loaded as the two professionals went to renowned universities to sharpen their craft to lead international bodies.
The question weighing heavily on Heads of States who will appoint the Executive secretary is which of the two candidates is best suited for the job. Apart from illustrious careers as individuals, the Heads of State are duty- bound to assess the geopolitics of the nation states of these candidates.
The DRC is still grappling with internal conflicts; the most governable section of the country is Kinshasa while Eastern Congo is almost in a state of anarchy where different militias control the area.
In stark contrast, Botswana is a jewel of peace and tranquillity. The country has experienced relative peace and absence of conflicts in its 55 years of existence.
SADC is currently plagued by instability in Mozambique and recently the violent protests in the Kingdom of Eswatini as well as looting in South Africa, where 72 people had died by Wednesday this week.
The socio- economic and political ambitions of SADC are directed by the Executive Secretary and it is imperative to have an Executive Secretary whose own country knows and preaches peace and stability.
It is not a matter of SADC Secretariat has never been headed by a Francophone as purported by pundits and commentators alike, but rather who is the best candidate to navigate SADC through the precarious situation that the region finds itself in lately.
Heads of State have to choose between a technocrat whose whole career in the Diaspora harnessed and developed economic policies that benefited and directed regional bodies like SADC and a career civil servant who has risen through the ranks of public service to the helm as PSP.
In the absence of foreign relocation as a motivation for vying for the post, it may be safe to conclude that Magosi’s ambition to head the SADC has more to do with making SADC a safer, stable and economically viable region.
* Just Saying - is MA Politics and International Relations Student at the University of Botswana, with keen interest in Politics, Peace and Security.