SADC leaders reaffirm commitment to democracy

WINDHOEK – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) ended its two-day summit in Lusaka, Zambia on Friday, with leaders of the 14 member countries reaffirming their commitment to the consolidation of democracy and political stability in the region.

According to a communiqué issued at a post-Summit media conference, the Summit noted the peaceful and orderly manner in which the peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar and Zambia exercised their democratic rights as they voted in presidential and parliamentary elections in their respective countries. According to the report obtained on the Chinaview.cn website, the Summit took note of the Report of the Executive Secretary on the economic situation in Zimbabwe and mandated the SADC Ministers responsible for Finance to use the Report of the Executive Secretary in consultations with the government of Zimbabwe to draw up an economic plan to support the country.The Summit also launched the SADC Brigade consisting of military, police and civilian components from all SADC member states, which was set up under the provisions of the African Union which recommended that each of its Five Regional Economic Communities (RECs) should have a standby capacity for peace support operations on the continent.As to gender equality, the summit noted that progress has been made towards achieving the set target of 50 per cent women representation in decision-making as well as towards the protocol on gender and development.Levy Mwanawasa, Zambian president and new chairperson of SADC, said that leaders of the member states had deliberated on matters that are critical to the realisation of the vision for deepening integration, peace and security, as well as strategies on addressing the objective of poverty reduction in this region.The summit also announced that there is a basis to declare the SADC Free Trade Area in 2008.”We need to re-double our efforts to unlock opportunities for SADC liberalised trade, in the context of the Free Trade Area, Customs Union and ultimately the Common Market,” said Mwanawasa.Leaders of the 14 member countries held closed-door sessions on Thursday and Friday, deliberating on a number of regional developmental issues with several draft agreements approved.The summit furthermore agreed to amend the SADC Treaty, the protocol on the Tribunal and the protocol on trade and signed a memorandum of understanding amongst SADC member states on SADC headquarters and the establishment of the SADC standby brigade.”The summit has been held in the spirit of brotherhood, sisterhood and dedication which have characterised this region for many years”, Mwanawasa said in his closing address.SADC is a major regional body in Africa with a total population of over 230 million that accounts for almost one-third of the African continent’s people.Its members are Angola, Botswana, D RC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.NampaAccording to the report obtained on the Chinaview.cn website, the Summit took note of the Report of the Executive Secretary on the economic situation in Zimbabwe and mandated the SADC Ministers responsible for Finance to use the Report of the Executive Secretary in consultations with the government of Zimbabwe to draw up an economic plan to support the country.The Summit also launched the SADC Brigade consisting of military, police and civilian components from all SADC member states, which was set up under the provisions of the African Union which recommended that each of its Five Regional Economic Communities (RECs) should have a standby capacity for peace support operations on the continent.As to gender equality, the summit noted that progress has been made towards achieving the set target of 50 per cent women representation in decision-making as well as towards the protocol on gender and development.Levy Mwanawasa, Zambian president and new chairperson of SADC, said that leaders of the member states had deliberated on matters that are critical to the realisation of the vision for deepening integration, peace and security, as well as strategies on addressing the objective of poverty reduction in this region.The summit also announced that there is a basis to declare the SADC Free Trade Area in 2008.”We need to re-double our efforts to unlock opportunities for SADC liberalised trade, in the context of the Free Trade Area, Customs Union and ultimately the Common Market,” said Mwanawasa.Leaders of the 14 member countries held closed-door sessions on Thursday and Friday, deliberating on a number of regional developmental issues with several draft agreements approved.The summit furthermore agreed to amend the SADC Treaty, the protocol on the Tribunal and the protocol on trade and signed a memorandum of understanding amongst SADC member states on SADC headquarters and the establishment of the SADC standby brigade.”The summit has been held in the spirit of brotherhood, sisterhood and dedication which have characterised this region for many years”, Mwanawasa said in his closing address.SADC is a major regional body in Africa with a total population of over 230 million that accounts for almost one-third of the African continent’s people.Its members are Angola, Botswana, D RC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Nampa