Tuesday 12 August 2014

Malawi to hand over the chairmanship SADC to Zimbabwe

In a summit to be held in Zimbabwe on 18th August 2014  Malawi is expected to hand over the chairmanship of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to Zimbabwe, Malawi Minister of Information Kondwani Nakhumwa confirmed in an interview.
According to Nakhumwa the hand over will take place at the 34th Ordinary Summit  Meeting  of the SADC Heads of state and Governments scheduled to take place in Zimbabwe on the 17th to 18th of August 2014.
He further said further said that  as part of handing over the chairmanship Malawi’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, George Nkondiwa has already handed over  the seat to his Zimbabwean counterpart on 10th August.   
The objective of the Summit is, among others, to undertake an overview assessment of the political and socio-economic development in the region; consider the Report on the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) for 2015-2020; the Report on the SADC Tribunal; as well as the Appointment of the Deputy Executive Secretary responsible for Finance and Administration.
In addition, the Summit will also receive reports from the ongoing Chairperson of SADC and  the SADC organ on politics, defence  and security cooperation.
Progress reports on the SADC  Strategic Challenge, SADC  Vision 2050 are also expected to received at the summit before the delegates consider legal instruments to be signed.
The Zimbabwean Summit will be held under the theme “ SADC Strategy  for Economic Transformation; Leveraging the region’s  diverse resources for sustainable economic and social development through beneficiation and value addition.”
 
 Malawi president  Peter Mutharika, will  also present a report on the activities undertaken during the period under review. The Malawi’s SADC Chairmanship was held under theme “Agriculture development and agro-industries: Key for Economic Growth and Poverty Eradication in the SADC Region” focusing on the empowerment of women and the youth.