Discurso das Missoes da SADC no dia 17 de Agosto de 2015 em Maputo

REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA       SPEECH DELIVERED BY:     HIS EXCELLENCY, MR THUSO GODSON RAMODIMOOSI,   HIGH COMMISSIONER  OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA TO THE REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE     ON THE OCCASSION OF SADC DAY - 17 AUGUST 2015, IN MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE

Ø  Your Excellency, the Minister of Land, Environment and Rural Development of the Republic of Mozambique, Mr. Celso I. Correia;

Ø  Your Excellency, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ms. Nyeleti Mondlane;

Ø  Your Excellency, the Governor of the City of Maputo, Ms. Iolanda Cintura;

Ø  Your Excellency, the President of the Municipal Council of the City of Maputo, Mr. David Simango;

Ø  Members of the Provincial Government;

Ø  Your Excellencies, Heads of SADC Diplomatic Missions and their Representatives;

Ø  Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

1.      I wish to commend the Government of the Republic of Mozambique for commemorating the SADC DAY. I understand that this event has been taking place for many years now, and is held annually in different provinces. There is no doubt that this forum helps to raise awareness and promotes better understanding of the SADC’s development agenda among the Mozambican people. Most importantly, the SADC Day celebrations bring us closer together as a SADC family, which shares common values, common challenges and a common destiny.

 

2.      I wish to also seize this opportunity to commend the Government of Mozambique on some of the admirable strides it has made regarding implementation of the SADC decisions:  

Ø  effective implementation of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, which has earned her international accolades. In March this year, the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva released its annual report which showed that 39.6% of parliamentary seats in Mozambique are held by women, thus placing Mozambique on 13^th position worldwide for women representation in Parliament.

 

Ø  the development of infrastructure. Mozambique deserves to be applauded for her steadfast commitment and the good leadership she  has demonstrated in the development of infrastructure projects, especially the development of transport corridors.  

 

Ø  I wish to recall that during Mozambique’s Chairmanship of SADC in 2012, the Government made Infrastructure Development one of its top priorities. In 2013, Mozambique hosted the SADC Regional Conference on Investment in Infrastructure, which sought to address infrastructure development challenges experienced by the region.

 

Ø  Other notable areas worth mentioning include, among others, considerable progress in the macro-economic convergence; movement towards the attainment of the envisaged Free Trade Area and the ongoing efforts aimed at combating illegal trade in endangered wildlife species.

 

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

3.      As you are all aware, the 35^th SADC Summit is currently taking place in Gaborone, Botswana under the theme: Accelerating Industrialisation of SADC Economies through Transformation of Natural Resources Endowment and Improved Human Capital.  This is a continuation of the ground work that has already been laid by the outgoing SADC Chair - Zimbabwe.

4.      The theme places emphasis on industrialisation as one of the key strategies for economic and social transformation of the region. It also recognises the region’s rich endowment in natural resources, which we should take advantage of to create more employment opportunities and generate income through beneficiation and value addition processes. Finally, the theme places emphasis on training and skills development, without which there will no developments.

5.      Other development challenges that SADC needs to urgently deal with relate to the power outages, drought, floods, food insecurity, inadequate infrastructure and limited financial resources.

6.      Although economic integration in the SADC region and between SADC other African regions has for many years remained one of the main challenges, one is encouraged by the following developments: 

 

Ø  the conclusion of negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and SADC. This is a milestone which guarantees market access for SADC exports to the EU market,

Ø  the launching of the SADC-COMESA-EAC Tripartite Free Trade area in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, in June 2015. This serves as a stepping stone towards increased trade among the African Countries,

Ø  the launching of the negotiations on the Continental Free Trade Area by the African Union Assembly in Johannesburg, in June 2015.

7.      On the political front, the SADC region generally remains peaceful and stable, although there are still some political challenges that require concerted effort by the region for the attainment of lasting peace, unity and stability.

 

8.      The consolidation of democracy continues to be strengthened by, among other things, the holding of peaceful and credible elections. In this regard, I wish to congratulate Mozambique, Namibia, Mauritius, Lesotho, Zambia, and indeed my own country, Botswana, for holding peaceful and credible elections. We wish the United Republic of Tanzania success in the upcoming elections.

9.      In conclusion, I would like to pay tribute to the outgoing Chair of SADC, Zimbabwe. Under her effective leadership, SADC adopted key strategic documents: the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and the Roadmap as well as the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Plan (2015-2020). I hope that these important documents will not be left to gather dust, but will be translated into tangible programmes and projects for the greater benefit of the people of SADC.

 

I thank you for your attention.