Page 34 - 40th Summit Brochure 2020

The 39th SADC Summit held in August 2019
approved a proposal to honour the late Julius
Kambarage Nyerere, founding President of the
United Republic of Tanzania and Chair of the
Frontline States, through adopting KiSwahili “as
the Fourth SADC Official Working Language”.

The SADC Secretariat and the
Africa Risk Capacity (ARC)
signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on 3 October
2019 which lays the foundation
for collaboration on matters of
common interest related to
disaster risk and financing for
disaster management. The MoU
was signed by the SADC
Executive Secretary, Dr
Stergomena Lawrence Tax
(right) and the ARC Director
General, Mohamed Beavogui.

Hon. Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng (left) from Botswana was 31
on 7 October 2019 sworn-in as the Judge of the SADC
Administrative Tribunal (SADCAT), an independent institution of
THE YEAR 2019/20 was a sad period for SADC as two of its former leaders SADC established to resolve labour disputes between the SADC
passed on – the founding President of Zimbabwe, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, and Secretariat or any of its institutions, as an employer. The ceremony
the third President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Benjamin William was administered by the SADCAT President, Hon. Justice Francis
Mkapa. Mugabe and Mkapa were both active in advancing the SADC Bere (right).
integration agenda.

On 1 April 1980, the leaders of nine independent
When President Robert Mugabe was the SADC Chairperson from August 2014 to August 2015, the region countries in southern African met in Lusaka, Zam-
developed and adopted a strategy to promote industrialization. Mugabe died on 6 September 2019. The picture bia and signed the Lusaka Declaration, Southern
at right shows a younger Mugabe addressing a press conference. Mugabe led Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2017. Africa: Toward Economic Liberation, in which they
agreed to establish a Southern African Develop-
ment Coordination Conference (SADCC), which
was later transformed into a full regional economic
community, the Southern African Development
Community (SADC). They agreed to “work har-
moniously to integrate their economies” and grad-
ually to reduce their dependence, particularly, but
not only, on apartheid South Africa. The document
says,

“The only guarantee for the success of this initia-
President Benjamin Mkapa (shown at right in both pictures) was chair of SADC between August 2003 and August tive is the efforts of the people and the govern-
2004, a period in which SADC launched its regional development plan. Mkapa passed away on 23 July 2020. In the ments of the region.” ❒
picture at right, Mkapa, then Foreign Minister is seen with the founding President of Tanzania, the late Julius K.
Nyerere. Mkapa led Tanzania from 1995 to 2005.