President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, has been named the new Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). He takes over the position from Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera.
The anticipated handover took place during the 42nd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of SADC, taking place in Kinshasa on August 17 and 18, 2022.
In his hand-over speech, President of the Republic of Malawi, Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera called on member countries of SADC to be independent of external influence, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The plunder that we have allowed the West to conduct in the DRC is a sin we must repent on, resolve and refuse to see repeated anywhere else in our region,” said Lazarus Chakweera, the president of Malawi.
His statements can be seen as a direct charge to his successor and host, President Felix Tshisekedi. The Kinshasa Summit is hosting a dozen SADC Heads of State and will review progress in regional integration in line with SADC aspirations “which envision an industrialized, peaceful, inclusive, competitive, middle to a high-income region where all citizens enjoy sustainable economic well-being.”
Speaking during his acceptance speech, President Felix Tshisekedi promised to develop infrastructure in the region that would stimulate economic integration and eradicate poverty across all SADC member states.
“I would be active in implementing programs to develop infrastructure and services in the region that is directly linked to our main strategies to stimulate economic integration and eradicate poverty in the SADC region,” he said.
The new position as the Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) improves the portfolio of the Democratic Republic of Congo president, who is also the current president of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
Among the matters to be deliberated upon during the ongoing 42nd Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of SADC in Kinshasa is the Rwandan presence on Congolese soil.
The question of the Rwandan presence on Congolese soil will be raised, knowing that it is Angola (in the name of the CIRGL and the African Union), also a member of SADC, which is leading part of the negotiation between Kinshasa and Kigali.
About SADC
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 16 countries in southern Africa.
It was founded on 17 August 1992, and the founding members are Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Angola, Tanzania, Malawi, Eswatini, and Lesotho. The headquarters of the organization is located in Gaborone, Botswana.
Southern African Development Community (SADC), originally (1979–92) Southern African Development Coordination Conference, is a regional organization of southern African countries that works to promote economic cooperation and integration among the member states and to preserve their economic independence.
The Union of Comoros was admitted into SADC at the 37th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Pretoria, South Africa in 2017, bringing the total number of Member States to 16.
