admin
Tichaona Zindoga Political Editor—
President Mugabe is back from Botswana where he had gone to attend the 35th Sadc Heads of State and Government Summit and pass on the chairmanship of the regional body to host Lieutenant-General (Retired) Seretse Khama Ian Khama. President Mugabe arrived at the Harare International Airport yesterday afternoon and was welcomed by Vice Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko; Ministers Sydney Sekaramayi (Defence), Kembo Mohadi (State Security), Simon Khaya Moyo (Economic Planning), Christopher Mutsvangwa (War Veterans), service chiefs and other senior officials.
Speaking soon after the arrival of the Presidential delegation, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, who also handed over his post as Sadc Council of Ministers chairman to Botswana’s Kenneth Matambo, said he was happy on the conduct and outcomes of the summit.
Also Read:
He was also upbeat that the new regional chairman, Lt-Gen Khama, undertook to continue with the path of industrialisation that was charted by President Mugabe.
“The summit went very well and the whole Summit was extremely appreciative of the work, the leadership and the inspiration over the past year by His Excellency President Mugabe,” Minister Mumbengegwi said.
He said Zimbabwe had achieved much in the past year of its chairmanship.
“As you will recall, August last year in Victoria Falls the theme was on Value Addition and Beneficiation and during the President’s term of office he was able to translate that from a mere theme into a lasting programme and roadmap which is going to be the guiding principle of this region SADC right up to 2063 as far as industrialisation is concerned.
“We can never develop without industrialisation and it required the vision and inspiration of His Excellency the President for the region to be able to come up with the strategy for the next 50 years which was adopted here in Harare in April this year and this is a lasting legacy by our President during the one year that he has led our regional organisation and everyone is extremely grateful and appreciative of this great achievement,” said Minister Mumbengegwi.
He was delighted that President Khama had hit the ground running.
“President Khama has started very well because he has selected a theme for this Summit relating to the acceleration of industrialisation in the SADC region.
“In other words he has built on the framework, the strategy that was introduced by President Mugabe and now we are at the level of working out the implementation of the strategy.
“This is a good starting point for the incoming Chair of SADC to follow on the same industrialisation theme which has already been introduced. We think it’s a very good start.”
The Sadc Summit held since Monday tackled various issues concerning the region and underscored the need for integration and industrialisation anchored on shared growth.
The Summit also emphasised the need for peace and stability in the region and leaders called for Sadc to remain the beacon of tranquillity in Africa, worrying over the troubled situation in Lesotho, subject of a Double Troika meeting held on Sunday.
Online Reporter