Speaker Mudenda in Windhoek to champion SADC regional Parliament drive

Ivan Zhakata

Herald Correspondent

Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda arrived in Windhoek Sunday night to attend the Orientation and Inaugural Executive Committee (EXCO) Meeting of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), in a mission pivotal to advancing the transformation of the Forum into a fully-fledged Regional Parliament.

Greeted at Hosea Kutako International Airport by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Namibia Melody Chaurura, Adv Mudenda’s arrival signals Zimbabwe’s growing leadership role within the Southern African parliamentary landscape.

A seasoned legal mind and parliamentary stalwart, Adv Mudenda brings to Windhoek decades of experience, including his previous two terms as chair of the SADC PF Legal Sub-Committee.

He currently leads the Strategic Lobby Team, whose efforts were instrumental in amending the SADC Treaty—a milestone achievement now endorsed by 14 of the 15 SADC Member States.

The Windhoek EXCO meeting comes at a crucial juncture, as regional leaders grapple with the operationalisation of the anticipated SADC regional Parliament, dwindling donor funding, and the need for innovative resource mobilisation strategies in an increasingly uncertain global economy.

Adv Mudenda joins an illustrious lineup of regional parliamentary leaders, including SADC PF President Rt Justin Tokely of Madagascar, Vice President Sylvia Elizabeth Lucas of South Africa, host Speaker Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila of Namibia, and other presiding officers from Angola, Eswatini, Zambia, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The programme began with a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at Namibia’s Heroes Acre in honour of the country’s founding President, Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, followed by a courtesy call on Kuugongelwa-Amadhila.

Substantive deliberations are set to focus on cementing cooperation between EXCO and the Secretariat, electing Sub-Committee chairpersons and brainstorming strategies to boost intra-regional trade amid shifting global dynamics.

In addition to his official engagements, Adv Mudenda is expected to attend Zimbabwe’s rescheduled Independence Day celebrations in Windhoek on April 29, 2025—a significant occasion that underlines Zimbabwe’s growing diplomatic and regional footprint.

Adv Mudenda’s presence in Namibia comes ahead of another major milestone: Zimbabwe’s hosting of the 57th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum in Victoria Falls from May 31 to June 7, under the progressive theme: “Harnessing Artificial

Intelligence (AI) for Effective and Efficient Parliamentary Processes in the SADC Region: Experiences, Challenges and Opportunities.”

With the groundwork being laid in Windhoek, all eyes are now on Victoria Falls, where the future of regional parliamentary integration could be decisively shaped.