The Troika system vests authority in the SADC Chairperson, Incoming (Deputy) Chairperson and the Outgoing Chairperson of SADC. The institutional reform exercise in 2001 decided to continue with this system, which was introduced at the 1999 SADC Summit held in Maputo, Mozambique. Under the system, SADC gives the Troika authority to take quick decisions on behalf of SADC that would ordinarily be taken at policy meetings scheduled at regular intervals, as well as the power to provide policy direction to SADC institutions in between regular SADC Summits.
The SADC Organ on Politics Defence and Security is also managed on a Troika basis and is responsible for promoting peace and security in the SADC Region. It is mandated to steer and provide Member States with direction regarding matters that threaten peace, security and stability in the Region. It is coordinated at the level of Summit, consisting of a Chairperson, Incoming Chairperson and Outgoing Chairperson, and reports to the SADC Summit Chairperson.
The SADC Summit and Organ Troika Summit are mutually exclusive; and, the Chairperson of the Organ does not simultaneously hold the Chair of the Summit. The Organ structure, operations and functions are regulated by the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. Like the Summit chair, the Organ chair rotates on an annual basis.
The Troika system operates at the level of the Summit, the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, the Council of Ministers and the Standing Committee of Senior Officials.
