Namibia Hosts SADC Troika Extra-ordinary Summit

Officially opening and chairing the SADC Troika ExtraOrdinary Summit in his capacity as the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, President Hage G. Geingob calls for revival in the SADC region when it comes to the Region’s economic, political and security renaissance, regeneration, revitalization, and restoration.

The SADC Extra-Ordinary Organ Troika Summit of Heads of State and Government was held on 31 January 2023 in Windhoek, Namibia.

President Geingob christened the year 2023 in Namibia as the year of Revival, which is about reigniting the strength of a resurgent nation, a nation that looks into the future with renewed hope and optimism. President Geingob stated that he hopes that this is also the year of our Region’s revival.

The Summit was attended by SADC Heads of State and Government and their representatives, such as those from Zambia: His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, and Incoming Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. South Africa: His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, and Outgoing Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

Also in attendance were the Right Honorable Ntsokoane Samuel

Matekane, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho; the Right Honorable Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini, representing His Majesty King Mswati III; and the Honourable Cristóvo Artur Chume, Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Mozambique, representing His Excellency Mr. Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique.

Additionally, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, His Excellency Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, attended virtually. The summit was also attended by the Chairperson of the SADC Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO), Ministers from Organ Troika Member States, namely Namibia, South Africa and Zambia, the SADC Executive Secretary and Head of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM).

President Geingob pointed out that, even though this is the first meeting he is chairing in Namibia as the Chairperson of the SADC Troika, he has been receiving excellent support and cooperation from all to discharge his responsibilities of steering this important structure of SADC.

“In this context, we are addressing the challenges we are facing in the Region in our quest for a peaceful, stable, harmonious and prosperous Region.”

-President Hage G. Geingob

President Geingob highlighted that the SADC Summit is a meeting to consider, share views and take decisions on specific political and security issues in the SADC Region.

The Head of State added that the regional commitment has always been to address inter- and intrastate conflicts by peaceful means and these initiatives were aimed at obtaining a clearer understanding of the causes and impact of the civil unrest and consulting key stakeholders on possible solutions to the prevailing challenges.

President Geingob condemns the assassination of a prominent opposition political activist of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum, by the name of Thulani Rudolf Maseko, who was assassinated in ESWATINI.

“In my capacity as Chairperson of the Organ, I issued a statement calling for a swift, transparent and comprehensive investigation so that the culprits can be brought to book. I have said that when diplomacy fails and people stop talking to each other, conflict begins. Therefore, dialogue is important, as it will give the peace process an opportunity to become successful.”

-President Hage G. Geingob

President Geingob further reminded the leaders that they are called upon to reinvent new approaches to find solutions to old problems that have been troubling our Region for so long.

“As I stated on a previous occasion, without peace, development cannot take place. And without development, we cannot achieve shared prosperity for our citizens. For that reason, it is incumbent upon us, the leaders of SADC, and in particular of the Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation, to take decisive action in addressing issues of insecurity in our Region.”

-President Hage G. Geingob

The Summit commended the Government and the people of the Kingdom of Lesotho for conducting peaceful and successful elections and congratulated the Revolutionary for Prosperity Party and the Right Hon. Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The Summit further welcomed the commitment made by Right Hon. Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho to prioritise the implementation and completion of the comprehensive national reforms process and approved the Action Plan for the

Lesotho Reform Oversight Committee to monitor the finalization of the reforms process in the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The Summit also urged the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to urgently initiate the process of the National Dialogue and urged all stakeholders in the Kingdom of Eswatini to remain calm and participate peacefully in the National Dialogue.

The Summit resolved to initiate dialogue amongst the Member States of different Regional Economic Communities (RECs) that have deployed forces in the DRC with a view to establish and implement mechanisms for the effective coordination of their interventions in the DRC.

Lastly, the Summit adopted the draft African Union Declaration on the USA’s proposed “Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act,” urged Member States to communicate SADC’s position, and reaffirmed the stance of Non-Alignment on conflicts outside the continent and the region at multilateral fora.