ZIMBABWE has assumed the chairmanship of the SADC Council of Ministers from Angola, as preparations for the 44th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government are underway, where President Mnangagwa will take over as the bloc’s chairman.
The transfer of leadership, which took place yesterday at the SADC Council of Ministers’ meeting at the new Parliament Building in Mount Hampden, marks the beginning of Zimbabwe’s responsibility to lead the organization’s endeavors in promoting development and integration.
In his acknowledgement speech, Ambassador Frederick Shava, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the new chairperson of the Council of Ministers, committed to giving priority to food security and the establishment of regional peace and stability during Zimbabwe’s term as chair.
He also emphasized the importance of encouraging innovation and creating opportunities for current and future generations through sustainable regional industrialization 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.
