Zim appointed SADC Vice Chair: Zimbabwe has landed the post of Deputy Chair of the Southern Africa Development Community, (SADC). Zimbabwe was elected to the position at the on-going 33rd Ordinary Summit for SADC Heads of States and Governments in Lilongwe, Malawi. The diplomatic victory for Zimbabwe follows the overwhelming endorsement of the country’s harmonised elections by the full summit. The summit noted that the elections were free, fair and credible and expressed the will of the people. Zimbabwe will be deputising Malawi which assumed the chairmanship of the regional body at the official opening of the summit on Saturday. Meanwhile, Dr Stergomena l. Tax, who is the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of East African Cooperation of Tanzania, has secured SADC’s Executive Secretary post with 79 percent votes, replacing the outgoing executive secretary, Dr Tomaz Augusto Salomão who had served two 8-year terms. The executive secretary’s position was tightly contested with Dr Tax narrowly piping Hon. Peter Sinon, who is Seychelles’ Minister for Investment, Natural Resources and Industry. The ministers have postponed for one month the voting for a deputy Executive Secretary position, after the current voting could not come into a consensus terms. South Africa was vying for a Deputy Executive Secretary position. The Council of Ministers meeting attended by Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and Justice and Legal Affairs Minister, Patrick Chinamasa also discussed the future of the SADC Tribunal, its protocol, functions and overall jurisdiction. The council left the matters to be further explored by the member states’ attorney generals and ministers of law and constitution matters, and that to provide their report by April 2014. Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to hand over the chairmanship of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security (Troika) to Namibian President, Hifikepunye Pohamba.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 17:02:17 +0000
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