The Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Monday, February 8 2021 through its Executive Secretary, Stergomena Lawrence Tax oriented the Incoming Chairperson of Sadc, President Lazarus Chakwera on the role of the SADC chairman.
In a press statement from SADC which MRB Entertainment online has seen, shows that the meeting was held virtually.
According to the statement, Chakwera expressed gratitude to the SADC Heads of State and Government for entrusting him with the responsibility of chairing the regional bloc and pledged his commitment towards the achievement of the SADC regional integration and development agenda, building on the successes of his predecessors.
Reads part of the statement: “The Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Her Excellency Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, on 8 February, 2021 paid a virtual courtesy call on the Incoming Chairperson of SADC, His Excellency Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, as Malawi prepares to assume the rotational Chairship of SADC at the 41st Summit of Heads of State and Government.”
On her Part, the SADC Secretary, Tax informed the Incoming Chairperson that the strategic direction of SADC is guided by the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030 and the SADC Vision 2050 which were adopted by the 40th SADC Summit in August 2020.
On this note, the Executive Secretary informed President Chakwera that the RISDP 2020-2030 and SADC Vision 2050 are based on a firm foundation of Peace, Security and Democratic Governance and are premised on the three pillars of Industrial Development and Market Integration; Infrastructure Development in Support of Regional Integration; and Social and Human Capital Development.
Tax said both the SADC Vision 2050 and RISDP 2020-30 envision a peaceful, middle- to high-income industrialised region, where all citizens enjoy sustainable economic well-being, justice and freedom.
“The SADC Executive Secretary also took the opportunity to highlight a wide range of issues aimed at facilitating Malawi’s Chairship of SADC, which included highlights of Malawi’s responsibilities in hosting SADC meetings, the key legal frameworks governing SADC operations and the SADC institutional arrangements as spelt out in the SADC Treaty,” added the statement.
The statement further says, as the Incoming Chair of SADC, Malawi will propose the theme of the 41st SADC Summit which will be endorsed by the Heads of State and Government.
President Chakwera is expected to take over the SADC chairmanship from his Mozambican counterpart, President Filipe Nyusi in August, this year.
