Africa-Press – Eswatini. Kinshasa, DRC -His Majesty King Mswati III yesterday received a posthumous honour of King Sobhuza II as a founding member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Handing over the medal to the King was South African President and outgoing chairman of the Organ Troika, Cyril Ramaphosa during the official opening of the 42nd SADC Summit held in the Democratic Republic of Congo under the theme; ‘Promoting industrialisation through agro-processing, mineral beneficiation, and regional value chains for inclusive and resilient economic growth’.
The summit is being held at the Parliament Building where His Majesty the King is accompanied by Inkhosikati LaNkambule. King Sobhuza II was one of the founding members of the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) when it was established in 1980 in Lusaka, Zambia.
Other leaders honoured by the regional body were ex-Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe who was represented by former First Lady Grace Mugabe, ex-Mozambican President Samora Machel, former Botswana President Sir Seretse Khama, former Basotho King Moshoeshoe II, to name but a few.
According to the regional organisation, SADCC was formed to advance the cause of national political liberation in Southern Africa, and to reduce dependence, particularly on the then apartheid era South Africa.
This was to be done through effective coordination of utilisation of the specific characteristics and strengths of each country and its resources. SADCC’s objectives went beyond just dependence reduction to embrace basic development and regional integration.
SADCC was formed with four principal objectives, namely:
n Reduction of Member State dependence, particularly, but not only, on apartheid South Africa.
– For mobilisation of Member States’ resources to promote the implementation of national, interstate and regional policies.
– Forging of linkages to create genuine and equitable regional integration.
– Concerted action to secure international cooperation within the framework of the strategy for economic liberation.
Transformed
The organisation was transformed in 1992 to become the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This was done with a key focus on integration of economic development.
Current SADC members are; Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
