Africa-Press – Mozambique. BTHE Southern African Development Community (SADC) has appointed a four-member Panel of Elders (PoE), including former President Jakaya Kikwete, to advise the region on political and conflict resolution issues.
Apart from Kikwete, other panelists are former Mauritian Vice-President Paramasivum Pillay Vyapoory, former Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, and ex-Botswana Foreign Minister Charles Tibone.
Dr Kikwete will chair the PoE, with Mr Vyapoory as his deputy, and Ms Mungoma will chair the MRG, with Ms Lwegasira as her deputy.
The members of the panel would serve a four-year term, according to the outgoing head of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense, and Security Cooperation, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
He said the appointments are in line with a decision of the 41st Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government held in Malawi in August 2021 to establish a body that would advise the region on political issues.
Dr Masisi also announced the four members of the SADC Mediation Reference Group (MRG). These are former Botswana ambassador to Australia, Molosiwa Selepeng; ex-Zambian Ambassador to Italy, Lucy Mungoma; former Zimbabwe Ambassador to Belgium, Andrew Mtetwa; and Hellen Lwegasira, a Tanzanian mediator and negotiator.
“Previous heads of state and government and former government ministers were nominated to the two bodies for their respectable and verifiable political and technical competence in conflict resolution, preventive diplomacy, and mediation,” Dr Masisi stated.
The PoE and MRG are part of the SADC Mediation and Conflict Prevention and Preventive Diplomacy structure that was established in 2004 to foster political and security stability in the region through the prevention and resolution of significant inter-state and intra-state conflicts.
He urged SADC policy and decision-making structures to make use of the expertise of the SADC PoE and MRG.
During the 41st Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government, they commended Dr Masisi for his outstanding leadership and continued efforts to address peace and security threats during the year, notwithstanding challenges posed by COVID-19.
The summit endorsed an Action Plan for the implementation of the Security Threats report and urged the Member States to implement interventions contained in the Plan.
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