The heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held their annual Summit in Luanda, Angola this week in which they focused more on the economic integration issues even as several member states battle with political, economic and social crises.
There was little mention and effort by the Summit to address the political stalemate in Zimbabwe and Madagascar. Regarding the situation in Zimbabwe, the leaders merely urged parties to the Power-sharing Agreement to remain engaged in the implementation of the agreement and to finalize the roadmap towards the holding of fresh elections. This is the same stand they had taken in Johannesburg in June this year which has so far yielded very little.
On the Madagascar crisis, the leaders simply reaffirmed their commitment to support the mediation process.
The crises in Swaziland and Malawi where several anti-government protests were violently suppressed in the recent months did not seem to interest the SADC leaders in spite of being bound by the treaty to promote democracy in their respective countries and the region at large.
On a progressive note, the Summit noted that the process of setting up an organ to maintain peace and security in Malawi was progressing well. The Summit also approved a number of technical texts and agreed to create a fund for a ministerial committee to evaluate the impact of global financial crises on the region's economy.
Whereas the Summit devoted its time to address economic issues particularly the development of the regional infrastructure, a key ingredient to successful economic integration, it would have been beneficial if it had addressed and sought to find tangible and sustainable solutions to the political challenges in the region that threaten its security, peace and stability because unstable political environment coupled with the lack of respect for the rule of law is undesirable for economic growth both at national and regional levels.