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This publication is intended to serve as an institutional memory reflecting the journey the
organisation has travelled, by documenting the stages, the objectives and achievements of each
stage, and the milestones attained under the leadership of each of the office bearers that has
served the organisation.
It is our hope that the publication will instil among the people of the SADC region a
greater zeal to carry forward the torch that was lit by the Founders -- President José Eduardo dos
Santos of Angola; President Sir Seretse Khama of Botswana; Right Hon. Prince Mabandla
Dlamini, Prime Minister of Eswatini; Hon. Mooki Vitus Molapo, Minister of Trade and Tourism
of Lesotho; Hon. Dick Matenje, representative of President Hastings Kamuzu Banda of Malawi;
President Samora Moises Machel of Mozambique; President Julius Kambarage Nyerere of the
United Republic of Tanzania, President Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda of Zambia; and Prime
Minister-designate Robert Gabriel Mugabe of Zimbabwe – when they met at the Mulungushi
Conference Centre in Lusaka, Zambia on that historic morning of 1 April 1980.
It is our hope that this will encourage more action and collective conversations for effective
implementation of the SADC regional integration agenda for the benefit of our citizens and
prosperity of our individual economies, as well as the regional economy, as we move forward in
the fast-changing and sometimes complex environment that we operate in. The lessons learnt
and best practices gleaned should inspire us all towards meeting the dreams and ideals of SADC’s
Founders and the expectations of the Youth of today.
I would like to thank all SADC Member States for their support and contributions to this
publication. May I also thank our knowledge partners, the Southern African Research and
Documentation Centre (SARDC) for travelling with us on this journey, assembling the
vi information and producing this important book that documents the history of our region, from
SADCC to SADC.

Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax
SADC Executive Secretary