THE Southern African Development Community (Sadc) has awoken from its deep slumber, announcing the convening of an extraordinary summit of heads of States and government to tackle developments in the region, including the crisis in Mozambique.
The November 16 to 20 summit, to be hosted by Zimbabwe, comes on the back of post-poll violence in Mozambique following disputed presidential elections.
Official results showed that the ruling party Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo had polled more than 70% of the votes ahead of opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane who got 20%.
The results have triggered demonstrations amid rigging claims.
Mondlane claimed this week that he survived an assassination attempt.
During post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Information minister Jenfan Muswere said: “The nation is informed that an Extraordinary Summit of Sadc Heads of State and Government is scheduled to be held in Harare from November 16 to 20, 2024, primarily to address emerging issues of regional significance. The summit is expected to be briefed on political events in the region, including the recent elections in Mozambique and Botswana and upcoming polls in Namibia.”
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The summit will come three weeks after Mozambicans disputed the presidential election results.
What complicates matters is that regional leaders had already congratulated Chapo.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa's congratulatory message was delivered before the official announcement of the results.
Mnangagwa will not be seen as a credible arbiter after his party, Zanu PF, was accused of having helped Frelimo to win the polls.
The party was also flagged in the recent Botswana elections in which Duma Boko’s Umbrella for Democratic Change ended Botswana Democratic Party’s 58-year stranglehold on State power.
Former Botswana President Ian Khama accused Zanu PF of attempting to help the Botswana Democratic Party to rig last week’s elections.
Zanu PF denies the charges.
As regional leaders meet in Harare next week, they should be forthright in their engagements.
The region needs to contain man-made crises such as disputed elections as the bloc is also battling natural phenomena like droughts and floods.
The region is fighting the effects of an El Niño-induced drought which has forced six countries — Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe — to declare it a state of national disaster to marshal resources to avert starvation.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), needs are assessed to be 50% higher than the 2016/17 season in the drought affected countries in southern Africa. It estimates that over 60 million people need food assistance.
OCHA went on to say the drought has led to a surge in displacement, disease outbreaks and food shortages, negatively impacting national economies.
“The severe impacts of the El Niño-induced drought are unfolding in a context of pre-existing vulnerabilities, driven by socio-economic challenges, high food prices, a protracted cholera epidemic, an Mpox outbreak and the compounding impacts of the climate crisis,” it said in a latest report.
All these crises will slow growth, increase poverty levels in the region.