The Sunday Mail
Outgoing SADC chairperson President Mugabe shares a lighter moment with Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa at Harare International Airport yesterday before departing for the 35th Ordinary Session of the Sadc Heads of State and Government Summit to be held in Botswana. Looking on are Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi (second from left) and Minister of State for National Security in the President’s Office Kembo Mohadi – Picture: Believe Nyakudjara
President Mugabe yesterday left for Gaborone, Botswana to attend the 35th Sadc Heads of State and Government Summit which begins tomorrow and ends on Tuesday. The President will hand over Chairmanship of the regional bloc to host President Ian Khama.
President Mugabe was seen off at Harare International Airport by Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is Acting President, Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi, Minister of State for National Security in the President’s Office Kembo Mohadi, Minister of Home Affairs Ignatius Chombo, Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and other senior Government officials.President Mugabe took over the Sadc leadership at a summit in Victoria Falls in August 2014 and had the rare honour of holding the concurrent chairmanships of both Sadc and the African Union. He is AU Chair until January 2016.
Since taking over the Sadc Chairmanship last year, President Mugabe has steered the 15-member grouping on the path of industrialisation, value addition and deeper integration.
A key marker down this road was his call at the 34th Summit in Victoria Falls for an extraordinary summit on industrialisation.
That extraordinary summit was duly held on April 29, 2015 in Harare, where the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap, to be implemented over three phases between 2015 and 2063, was adopted.
The industrial strategy is aligned to the continental vision, Agenda 2063, a pro-people strategy aimed at optimising the use of Africa’s resources for the benefit of all Africans. Botswana is set to push forward the agenda set by President Mugabe at the Gaborone Summit running under the theme “Accelerating Industrialisation of Sadc Economies through Transformation of Natural Endowment and Improved Human Capital”.
During his tenure, President Mugabe also dealt with the volatile situation in Lesotho which was plunged into chaos following an attempted coup in August last year.
At the Sadc Council of Ministers meeting on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi commended the region for putting in place the Regional Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap and finalising the Revised Sadc Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2015-2020.
“In celebrating this collective achievement of our organisation, we are not oblivious to the fact that much more remains to be done in this area, the most urgent and important task being the speedy operationalisation of the Strategy,” he said.
“I have no doubt that we will continue to work together, under the wise stewardship of Botswana, with a view to accelerating industrialisation, value addition and benefaction for the betterment of our people and region.”
Minister Mumbengegwi hands over the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers to Botswana Minister of Finance and Development Planning Kenneth Matambo.
