The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) launched in Maputo the Inter-State Politics and Diplomacy Committee (ISPDC) to deal with diplomatic and political issues within the region.
The ISPDC, which is part of the Regional Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, was officially created during a Sadc foreign ministers meeting held on May 16 in the Mozambican capital.
The new body is regarded as another instrument to make the Sadc protocol on political and security co-operation more effective.
Addressing the meeting, the Sadc executive secretary, Prega Ramsamy, said that the launching of the ISPDC constitutes a historical landmark in the process of regional integration in Sadc.
"I am saying it is a historical landmark because it is in politics and diplomacy that we find the roots of our organisation", he stressed.
"Indeed, the pillars of Sadc are found in the struggle for self-determination and freedom undertaken through a combination of protracted liberation struggles and purposeful diplomacy," he added.
Ramsamy praised the organisation for its dynamism in approaching the issue of regional integration pointing out that in the 1980s, Sadc member states had diverse socio-economic policies, "but now all countries in the region have moved to market-oriented economic policies".
"Most Sadc member states have liberalised their economies, brought down budget deficits, exchange controls have been liberalised, the public sector and overall macro-economic fundamentals have considerably improved", he said.
He also reported improvements in the inflation rates in most of the member states during the last few years.
"During 2000, eight member states - Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland and Tanzania - recorded a single digit inflation," he said.
Despite the reported economic growth, Ramsamy warned that Sadc's development can only be sustainable and improved in an environment of peace, security and stability.
"It is for this reason that the new structure of Sadc, adopted by the heads of state and government in March 2001, and currently being implemented, has a two-fold approach to the issue of regional co-operation and integration," he said.
The major emphasis remained on "increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Sadc policies and programmes to implement more coherent and better co-ordinated strategies for sustainable growth and development" while the second approach involved achieving peace and stability, and was the task of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security.
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Ramsamy said the success of a new Sadc would depend, to a large extent, on how the twin objectives of economic and political governance are addressed in a manner that will provide opportunities to all its people on the basis of equity and mutual benefits.
On the political front, according to Ramsamy, there is need to consolidate the achievements made so far with regard to democratic principles, the rule of law, accountability, human rights and participatory governance.
Coupled with these is the need "to strengthen the political and diplomatic mechanisms for conflict prevention, management and resolution at regional level and to ensure that these mechanisms are used to restore and maintain peace".
Ramsamy said that the region needs to develop "not only a risk mapping system to analyse social, economic and political situations, but also coherent, comprehensive and integrated approaches that will address the root causes of conflict".
