by Innocent Mujeri/ Christopher Makaza
Tanzanian President and SADC Chairperson His Excellency Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli has called upon all SADC member states to continue to work together not only in addressing the COVID-19 impacts but also in preparing the post-pandemic recovery initiatives the regional bloc.
President Magufuli said this today in his SADC Day message meant to celebrate the achievements of the regional bloc over the years.
“It has been 40 years since our Organization was established in Lusaka, Zambia, in 1980; and exactly 28 years since the transformation of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) into the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Windhoek, Namibia, in 1992. I, therefore, would like, as Chair of SADC, to extend warm greetings and congratulations to all SADC citizens on this Special Day for our Community.
“In the same vein, I take the opportunity to pay a well-deserved tribute to our Founding Fathers, who took the historic stride to form this noble Organization in order to serve as the vanguard of our aspirations for freedom, unity and solidarity. Indeed, without their vision and solidarity this day would have not been possible,” said Magufuli.
The SADC Chair said it was unfortunate that many of the bloc’s founding fathers the likes of the late Robert Mugabe has since died and he extended his condolences to the Government and people of Zimbabwe for this loss.
President Magufuli also said that the block has recorded a lot of achievements since its inception in 1980.
“SADC has come a long way since its inception in 1980. In this respect, it is heartening to note that, over the past four decades, our Organization has recorded some important milestones in different areas of cooperation, from peace and security, to infrastructure development, trade and industry, agriculture and food security, health, education, gender and youth empowerment.
“ Indeed, our region is now, more than ever, enjoying unparalleled peace and security compared to any other regions on the continent; intra-regional trade is increasing, extreme poverty is declining, income is rising and the level of our international competitiveness has been enhanced,” said the SADC Chair.
However, President Magufuli warned member States that they should always guard against complacency since much still needs to be done in order to realise the dreams and visions of the founding fathers.
The SADC Chair also beamoned the effects of COVID 19 that has ravaged the entire world and paid tribute to all SADC member states for taking appropriate measures to fight the pandemic.
President Magufuli further said the combined efforts of member States have helped to reduce the impact caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.
He called upon all SADC member States to work together in addressing the COVID 19 impacts.
“ In this regard, going forward, I call upon all SADC Member States to continue to work together not only in addressing the COVID-19 impacts but also in preparing the post-pandemic situation of our Community. This, I believe, would be a nobler way to celebrate this SADC Day,” said President Magufuli.
Meanwhile, the Mozambican President ,His Excellency President of Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, today assumed the SADC Chairpersonship from President Magufuli.He will chair the bloc until August 2021.
