SANF 20 no 33 – by Kizito Sikuka
The new SADC chair, President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique has said the region should remain committed to fulfilling the ideals of its founders and ensure that citizens fully enjoy the benefits of belonging to a shared community in southern Africa.
The ideals of SADC founders are for a common future within a regional community that will ensure economic wellbeing, improvement of standards of living and quality of life, freedom and social justice, as well as peace and security for all.
Speaking at the 40th SADC Summit held on 17 August in a virtual format, President Nyusi said that during his tenure as chair, he will strive to “propel the region to new heights” based on the principles set by the generation of visionary leaders who established SADC – formerly called the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) in 1980.
“I accept the mandate of SADC Chair, which has just been entrusted to me in this memorable 40th SADC Summit, with great humility, but with a high sense of responsibility and mission,” Nyusi said in his acceptance speech.
“The Mozambican people are, by nature, resilient and hardworking, therefore, we commit ourselves to fulfil this mission with selflessness,” adding that the success of his tenure will also depend on the “support of each of the Member States.”
President Nyusi who assumed the rotating post of chair from President John Magufuli of the United Republic of Tanzania, said without the visionary leadership provided by the Founding Fathers, SADC would not have achieved as much since its establishment.
“Our special appreciation goes to the founders of our organization who, with their intelligence and extraordinary vision, contributed to our political and economic liberation. Today, in a new reality, the stages of this development are well reflected in our compass, which is the Indicative Strategic Plan for Regional Development.”
The RISDP is a blueprint for development in the region.
On the theme of the 40th SADC Summit, which is “SADC: 40 Years Building Peace and Security, Promoting Development and Resilience in the Face of Global Challenges.” President Nyusi said the theme is “in perfect harmony” with the various vulnerabilities and risks that SADC faces in its integration agenda.
These vulnerabilities and risks include socio-economic impact of COVID-19, transboundary crime, the impact on terrorism in its most varied forms and manifestations; as well as the impact of climate change.
“The theme also underlines the binomial of peace and development…the clarity about its intrinsic connection allows us to define the right strategies on the best way to achieve the sustainable development that we have pursued as SADC, in the last 40 years, as well as on the creation of resilience, in the face of regional and global news,” he said.
With respect to industrialization, Nyusi said there is need for Member States to redouble their efforts and ensure that raw materials from the region undergo value addition before export so that the region gains more from its natural resources.
It was also important for SADC to come with vibrant and seamless regional infrastructure projects so that goods, services and people move smoothly across the region.
“The prospect of a SADC market, in a context of globalization, lays sustainable foundations for a synchronization and harmonization of industrialization and infrastructure projects, which allow adding value to primary products, the diversification of the economic base and exports, as well as the sustainable management of water resources,” he said.
President Nyusi also said SADC should invest more in its farmers, particularly smallholder farmers who make up the majority.
Furthermore, agriculture is the backbone of most economies in the region, and it is estimated that more 62 percent of the SADC region’s population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, according to the SADC Secretariat.
“For all these reasons, the integration process we intend will continue to place rural farmers at the epicentre of our action, with the scope of poverty alleviation, and greater autonomy in food production,” he said.
On the need for SADC to take full charge of its development agenda and financing model, President Nyusi said it was critical for Member States to actively finance the SADC Secretariat.
Currently, a number of Member States are in arrears in terms of their contribution, affecting the implementation of regional activities, programmes and projects.
“We are aware that the full functioning of our organization depends a lot on the financial availability resulting from regular contributions from Member States to the organization. In this context, I take the opportunity to thank the Member States for their efforts to regularize their arrears.”
Turning to COVID-19, which has affected the global socio-economic landscape and resulted in the loss of many lives, Nyusi said the region should remain united in the fight against the pandemic
He said even in the face against any difficulties or challenges, thee region should not lack determination to continue to achieve its goals of regional integration and development.
“In a time of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of us are required to make additional efforts, greater solidarity, coordinated and concerted action as an organization and states that share a common destiny and future.”
Described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the most serious health emergency in generations, COVID-19 is the major reason that led to SADC holding its 40th SADC Summit in a virtual format.
If conditions improve, the region is expected to have a physical summit in March 2021 in Maputo, Mozambique. sardc.net
