Page 30 - 40th Summit Brochure 2020

“Our task is not yet complete,” President
Machel emphasised, adding that “political strug-
gle and support of the Frontline States must con-
tinue.”
Lessons that the Frontline States had learnt
in their quest for political freedom in Southern
Africa would also inform progress in SADCC.
“I have no doubt that we are equally capable
of working together for the economic and social
advancement of our peoples in the same way as
we have done in the struggle for political free-
dom,” President Khama said.
T e message was equally emphatic from the
charismatic Machel.
“It is very important that the experience of unity and cohesion of the T e Mulungushi Summit, held on 1-2 April 1980, was a culmination of
Frontline States in the political liberation struggle of the people should also events, including the inaugural Southern African Development Coordination
be extended to other majority-ruled States and governments in Southern Conference convened by the f ve Frontline States on 3-4 July 1979 in Arusha,
Africa, in economic liberation,” he said. United Republic of Tanzania, which decided that “economic liberation could
While obviously beaming with pride for the successes on the political not be achieved without the involvement of the other majority-ruled states of
front, which included the imminent achievement of majority rule in Zim- Southern Africa.”
babwe, President Khama acknowledged that economic liberation would not When SADCC was formed, it had a membership of the nine countries
be easy. that signed the Lusaka Declaration in 1980. Today, the membership of SADC
“It must be accepted that this will no doubt be a more dif cult task than has expanded to 16 countries.
the political one,” Khama warned. However, he stated bluntly that it was in- T e SADC Member States are -- Angola, Botswana, Union of Comoros,
cumbent upon the peoples of southern Africa to achieve economic freedom. Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauri-
It would be “over-optimistic to hope for easy and quick successes,” he said. tius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanza-
“However, the task is ours and we must think of all possible ways of tackling it.” nia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. ❒
T e Lusaka Summit was also attended by Robert Mugabe who had won * Mukundi Mutasa writes in his personal capacity 27
the pre-independence elections and would soon be sworn in as the f rst Prime
Minister of independent Zimbabwe, and by Sam Nujoma, the president of the
South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), who received guarantees
of support from the Summit for the liberation of Namibia, which at that time
was occupied by South Africa, although formally under UN mandate.
In his commitment of support to SWAPO, President Kaunda pledged
that “time and our own determination to give SWAPO every support, favour
victory for the oppressed.”
President Khama’s concluding state-
ment during the Mulungushi Summit was
the embodiment of the foundation upon
which SADCC was built.
“We move forward in unity, or we per-
ish,” he said.
T e host, President Kaunda, echoed the
same sentiment when he said unity should not
be limited to political liberation alone.
“African unity must be given eco-
nomic substance, out of which the socio-
cultural fabric will grow so strong that our
continent will no longer be
vulnerable.”
T is informed the vision
of SADC, the successor to
SADCC, that of “a common fu-
ture within a regional commu-
nity that will ensure economic
wellbeing, improvement of the
standards of living and quality
of life, freedom and social jus-
tice and peace and security for
the peoples of Southern Africa.”