SANF 13 no 39
The Southern African Development Community has completed the leadership transition at its Secretariat in Botswana, with a new team now in place to steer the regional integration agenda.
The new SADC Secretariat leadership is headed by Executive Secretary, Dr Stergomena L. Tax from the United Republic of Tanzania who will be deputized by Dr Thembinkosi Mhlongo of South Africa and Emilie Ayaza Mushobekwa of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Dr Tax was appointed and sworn-in as executive secretary during the 33rd Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government held in Malawi in August, replacing Dr Tomaz Augusto Salomão of Mozambique who had served his maximum two four-year terms.
Dr Tax is no stranger to regional integration, which is the cornerstone of the development agenda for the SADC.
Prior to her appointment as SADC executive secretary, she was permanent secretary in the Tanzanian Ministry of East African Cooperation since 2008.
During her tenure, she played a crucial role in strengthening intra-regional trade and cooperation among the five partner states of the East African Community.
The operational areas are similar as southern Africa moves towards deeper regional integration, although SADC is a more complex organization with 15 member states.
She has vast experience in trade negotiations; private sector development; policy analysis, formulation, implementation and reviews; and programme design, management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Dr Mhlongo was appointed new deputy executive secretary responsible for regional integration during an Extra Ordinary Meeting of the SADC Council of Ministers held in late October in Lilongwe, Malawi.
He replaces Angolan engineer João Caholo whose term ended in October after serving the SADC Secretariat for the maximum eight years set for those in top leadership positions.
Dr Mhlongo previously worked at the SADC Secretariat as chief director responsible for strategic planning, gender, and policy harmonization. Until his latest appointment he was head of programmes at the Southern Africa Trust based in South Africa.
The appointment of the deputy executive secretary for regional integration was postponed in August to allow SADC enough time to complete the recruitment process.
The ministerial selection and recruitment panel interviewed potential candidates in October, with the panel submitting a report to Council on 23 October. At least four candidates are understood to have been nominated for the post. However, their names and countries of origins were not made public.
Mushobekwa has been with the SADC Secretariat since 2010 when she was appointed deputy executive secretary responsible for finance and administration at the 30th Summit of Heads of State and Government in Windhoek, Namibia.
All three positions are for four-year terms and renewable only once, meaning one can hold the post for a maximum of eight years.
The smooth leadership transition at the Secretariat will allow SADC to accelerate the momentum toward regional integration that was built by the previous team led by Salomão.
The SADC Secretariat is the principal executive institution of SADC, responsible for strategic planning, facilitation and coordination and management of all SADC programmes.
The SADC Secretariat structure is designed to maximize and support the facilitation of policies and programmes by the 15 member states to best contribute to the overall objectives of SADC – achieving regional integration and poverty alleviation.
The SADC regional integration agenda includes, among others, the attainment of key milestones such as consolidation of a Free Trade Area formed in 2008 and the establishment of a Customs Union.
A Ministerial Taskforce on Regional Economic Integration is working on a roadmap for the proposed launch of the SADC Customs Union and a Tripartite Free Trade Area involving two other regional economic communities.
The proposed Tripartite FTA will cover 26 countries in eastern and southern Africa and will have a combined population of almost 600 million and a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about US$1 trillion.sardc.net
