Murwira Hands Over SADC Council Chairmanship to Ma...

Murwira Hands Over SADC Council Chairmanship to Madagascar

Rutendo Mazhindu- ZimNow Reporter

The Southern African Development Community Council of Ministers met yesterday in Antananarivo, Madagascar, ahead of the 45th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled for August 17, 2025.

The ministers reviewed progress on regional programmes and prepared recommendations for adoption by the summit.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Professor Amon Murwira, handed over the chairmanship of the Council to Madagascar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Rafaravavitafika Rasata.

The change of leadership marks the start of Madagascar’s stewardship of the 16-member bloc’s ministerial body.

In his final address as chair, Prof Murwira called for unity and deeper cooperation among member states.

“As ministers, as a government, as a people, we must shun divisions among ourselves. We have an obligation to the enslaved, to the colonised, to the people we lead, and to the unborn child to say, ‘Never again should I participate in the enslavement of our people,’” he said.

He urged the bloc to act collectively on regional security issues, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“We have to demonstrate oneness, as brothers and sisters, in our search for a lasting solution to the conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we say, ‘An injury to one of us is an injury to all of us,’” he said.

Prof Murwira also warned that the slow uptake of SADC protocols and agreements was hindering integration.

“Without timely ratification, our ability to establish a robust rules-based framework is significantly hampered. We should not behave the way we were trained to behave under the colonial master, but in a way that liberates our people,” he said.

Dr Rasata led discussions on the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020–2030, focusing on industrialisation, infrastructure development, energy security, and food self-sufficiency.

The ministers also discussed peace and security, reaffirming SADC’s commitment to supporting member states in crisis through coordinated diplomatic, humanitarian, and peacekeeping interventions.

The recommendations will be presented to the Heads of State and Government for adoption at the summit.