The Standing Committee of Senior Officials from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are meeting on 11 – 13 March 2019, at the Safari Court Hotel and Conference Centre in Windhoek, Namibia to review and prepare documents for the meeting of Council of Ministers scheduled for 15-16 March, 2019.
The meeting was opened by Ambassador Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, the Executive Director in the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation for the Republic of Namibia, and current Chairperson of the SADC Committee of Senior Officials.
In her remarks, Ambassador Ashipala-Musavyi stated that one of the key priorities for the SADC region was Industrialization, through which the region will achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable development. She said that it was important for SADC to effectively implement programmes and activities which will bring SADC closer to achieving the regional integration agenda, which would in turn lead to the “Africa We Want” as per the AU Agenda 2063.
The SADC Chair of the Standing Committee of Senior official said that one of the crucial tasks during the meeting was to look at the budget of the SADC Secretariat and recommend it to Council for consideration.
The Executive Secretary of SADC, Her Excellency Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, the SADC Secretariat Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, Dr Thembinkosi Mhlongo, the Deputy Executive Secretary for Corporate Affairs, Ambassador Joseph Nourrice and Directors and staff from the SADC Secretariat and delegates from SADC Member States attended the meeting.
The SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials is a technical advisory committee whose mandate, among others, is to review, and clear documents for the SADC Council of Ministers. The SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials precedes the SADC Council of Ministers which will be held on 15 and 16 March, 2019 at the Safari Court Hotel and Conference Centre in Windhoek, Namibia.
The meeting of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials will be followed by the meeting of the Finance Committee on 12th March 2019, and the meeting of the SADC Council of Ministers, which will be hosted by Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of Namibia in her capacity as the current Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers oversees the functioning of the SADC institution and ensures that policies and decisions are implemented.
