SADC Urged to Prioritize Peace and Security Investments
By Dumisani Ndlovu
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers meeting concluded in Harare with a call for increased investment in peace and security. Dr. Fredrick Shava, incoming council chairperson and Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, emphasized:
“We still have to do more to ensure that we have peace and security, the prerequisite for development in the entire region… We have to invest heavily in peace and security in order to be able to deal with old, new and emerging challenges.”
Dr. Shava highlighted the need to leverage natural resources, human capital, and innovative ICT to improve lives and livelihoods in member countries. He noted:
“We have all recognised the imperative of beneficiation and value addition of our primary commodities to create more jobs and optimise.”
However, Dr. Shava expressed disappointment with SADC’s implementation of its industrialization strategy and roadmap, stating:
“Our implementation scorecard especially in the most critical areas of infrastructure development, industrialisation and regional integration is not good as clearly dealt with by the report of the Executive Secretary.”
Dr. Shava emphasized the importance of meeting financial and statutory obligations, saying:
“SADC needs to timeously meet its financial and statutory obligations if the regional body is to succeed in the implementation of its strategies while weaning itself from over reliance on international cooperation partners.”
