18 August 2008
Sandton — At the heads of state summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), held in Sandton, South Africa, over the weekend, Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, was elected deputy chairperson of the SADC organ for politics, defence and security cooperation.
This body is headed by a troika, and this is the second time that Mozambique has been called upon to take part in it. In 2000, during the government of Guebuza's predecessor, Joaquim Chissano, Mozambique briefly chaired the organ.
The new chairman of the troika, replacing Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is King Mswati III of Swaziland, who was formerly the deputy chair.
The organ on politics, defence and security is seen as a critical body, in that it deals with questions of defending the sovereignty of SADC member states, and is responsible for ensuring the peace and political stability of the region. Its most pressing task in the immediate future is to attempt to persuade Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF, and the two factions of the opposition movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to reach an agreement on a power-sharing arrangement.
Speaking in Guebuza's name, Mozambican Foreign Minister Oldemiro Baloi said that the election of Mozambique may well have resulted from the good image the country enjoys internationally thanks to its political stability, and the success of its post-war reconstruction.
"This is the most important body of the organisation", said Baloi. "I believe the fact that we have been called upon is due to a very positive reading of the reputation the country has in the region, the continent and the world".
At the summit, South African President Thabo Mbeki took over the leadership of SADC from his Zambian counterpart Levy Mwanawasa, who was unable to attend because of illness. The summit appointed Congolese chairperson Joseph Kabila as the SADC Deputy Chairperson, and so the 2009 SADC summit will be held in Kinshasa.
Accepting the post, Kabila said this was proof of SADC's trust in Congo, despite the recent conflicts and political crises that have wracked the country. He reiterated his pledge to respect the democratic principles of SADC.
The summit also readmitted Seychelles to membership, five years after the island state had withdrawn from the organisation. Seychelles President James Michel assured the summit that the withdrawal in 2003 was not because Seychelles disagreed with SADC principles, but was purely "for economic reasons".
He said that Seychelles had been undergoing macro-economic restructuring, which forced the country to economise on its resources - including the payment of membership fees to international organisations. But now he believed Seychelles was able to pay its contributions to SADC.
He added that, even when it was outside SADC, the organisation continued to invited the country to meetings - that, he thought, showed that SADC fully understood the reasons that had forced Seychelles' withdrawal.
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