The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Honourable Ambassador Dr. Frederick Shava on 13 August 2024 assumed the Chairship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers from His Excellency Ambassador Ambassador Téte António, Minister of External Relations of the Republic of Angola.
Consisting of Ministers from each Member State, usually from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Economic Planning or Finance, the SADC Council of Ministers is an institution of SADC established under Article 11 of the SADC Treaty to oversee the functioning and development of SADC and to ensure that SADC policies are properly implemented.
Hon. Ambassador Dr. Shava’s assumption of the Chairship of the SADC Council of Ministers comes ahead of the assumption of the SADC Chairship by His Excellency Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe from His Excellency João Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola at the 44th SADC Summit to be held on 17 August 2024.
In acceptance speech, Hon. Ambassador Dr. Shava expressed his commitment to steering Council of Ministers, guided by the 44th SADC Summt theme; “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustained Economic Growth and Development towards an Industrialised SADC”, which entails the rigorous implementation of our regional agenda.
The Chairperson of Council highlighted that, through the implementation of the theme SADC will take measures to promote innovation; create opportunities for the present and future generations through sustainable regional industrialisation and economic growth.
The Chairperson of Council called on Member States continue their cooperation in fostering SADC’s regional development plan anchored on the foundation of peace, security, and good governance which are fundamental ingredients for the SADC’s regional transformative agenda.
Outgoing Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, His Excellency Ambassador Téte António highlighted that, over the past year, SADC has made significant progress in promoting regional cooperation, integration and development guided by the 43rd SADC Summit Theme: Human and Financial Capital: The Key Drivers for Sustainable Industrialisation in the SADC Region, which was adopted in August 2023 in Luanda, Angola.
He said, as part of the implementation of the theme, the SADC region paid attention to the need to have a well-educated and skilled workforce that can foster innovation, increase productivity and, ultimately, drive the SADC regional industrialisation agenda.
He called on the region to expedite the operationalisation of the SADC University of Transformation which will serve to increase access to education, enhancing the quality and relevance of education to national priorities and increasing the supply of relevant and critical skills for the benefit of the labour market. He also called for a rapid operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund.
On the humanitarian situation in the region, the Outgoing Chairperson of Council of Ministers hailed the development and launch of the Regional Humanitarian Appeal of at least US$5.5 the Chairperson of SADC, His Excellency João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço on 20 May 2024 to support countries affected the El Niño induced drought and floods.
On his part, the SADC Executive Secretary, His Excellency Mr. Elias M. Magosi commended the Republic of Zimbabwe for championing the SADC industrialisation agenda from the time it hosted the 34th SADC Summit in 2014 and chaired SADC between 2014-2015 held in Victoria Falls leading to the development and adoption of the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063. He also congratulated Zimbabwe for hosting a successful 7th SADC Industrialisation Week from 28 July to 02 August 2024, which attracted over 3500 participants from the SADC region, Africa and around the globe.
H.E. Magosi highlighted that, in the past year, the Secretariat supported Member States in the development of value chains to capitalise on their competitive advantages to unlock opportunities for promoting economic growth and creating decent jobs.
The Executive Secretary underscored the importance of working in solidarity to promote peace and security to create pathways for sustainable development. He highlighted that the deployment of the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) in December 2023 demonstrates the SADC’s resolve towards bringing lasting peace and security.
