18 Aug 2015

Botswana has been commended for hosting a successful Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit. 

Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) chief correspondent, Mr Reuben Barwe said that Botswana had been a great host, and deliberations by SADC heads of state were fruitful, as depicted that business was conducted slightly ahead of schedule.

“I have attended many SADC summits over the past 23 years, since the 1992 Windhoek, Namibia summit which transformed the old Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) into a development community. 

I can confidently say that from the officials, to the council of ministers and the heads of state, this year’s summit was efficient,” he said.

Mr Barwe said that over the past year under Zimbabwe’s chairmanship, SADC had prioritized the adoption of the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap, as well as the revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan.

“President Mugabe served as the chairperson of SADC from August 2014, and from January 2015 concurrently became the chair of the African Union, and he took the opportunity to push for the adoption of the SADC industrial strategy at the ordinary summit in Harare last April, aligned with the African Union ‘Agenda 2063’ vision and priorities,” Mr Barwe said.

The veteran Zimbabwean journalist urged the region to give priority to improving roads, electricity, water and other such economic enablers, infrastructure that could provide a base for industrial development.

Additionally, he said SADC needs to go back to the basics by ensuring that countries in the region are not too heavily dependent on South Africa for manufactured goods, adding that alternate routes for the transportation of goods such as the Beira corridor need to be given priority.

“More even development would also benefit South Africa, as they would no longer deal with an influx of labour from neighbouring states,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ms Shehnilla Mohamed, a facilitator of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in Johannesburg, South Africa, said while she was happy with Botswana as a host the discussions did not readily tackle bread and butter issues faced by the people of the region.

“Our people are getting poorer in many parts of the region, despite SADC being well resourced region. 

We needed to hear discussions on how to produce tangible results visible in transforming ordinary people’s lives, in terms of food security, the supply of portable water and electricity, healthcare, education, and protection from the adverse effects of climate change,” she said. ENDS