18 Aug 2015

The countries that constitute the Southern African Development Community (SADC) embody common values that could make the region an epitome of good governance and economic prosperity.

These were words, read in his a on Tuesdat August 18.

In a valediction read in his stead by the Prime Minister of Tanzania, Mr Mizengo Pinda, President Kikwete, who could not attend the Gaborone summit, said he was bidding adieu to a region that has enormous potential.

“No other region enjoys the same level of shared values and aspirations on democratic good governance and on shared prosperity, as we do in SADC. 

No other such region has the provenance and pedigree that we have in SADC. 

Together we shared, together we endured, and together we can bring formidable changes in our region,” Mr Kikwete said.

The Tanzanian leader, nearing the end of his final term as president said that he was pleased with the progress he has seen in the SADC region over the years, and expressed the sanguine belief that better days were ahead.

“I am a happy man having seen how our region has evolved from its humble beginnings to be a promising regional body. 

I am optimistic that not too long we will close the sad chapter of poverty, industrial and infrastructure backwardness, conflicts and unnecessary crises,” he said.

The summit, which concluded yesterday  noted the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development plan 2015-2020 and that of the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap of 2015-2063, resolving to continuously monitor their progress.

Moreover, the summit sought to explore sustainable ways of financing SADC programmes, and to scale up the implementation of regional infrastructure as a key enabler to economic integration in support of industrial development.

The summit further approved a resolution on the establishment of the Southern African Development Community Administrative Tribunal (SADCAT) and the Declaration on Youth Development and Empowerment in SADC. ENDS