Enough talking – Levy
Enough talking – LevyFrom CHISHIMBA CHISHIMBA, Port Louis, Mauritius
PRESIDENT Mwanawasa has said it is now time for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to shift from a ‘talking shop’ theory and adopt a more pragmatic and practical approach towards resolving poverty that is stalking a substantial portion of the population in the region.
Dr Mwanawasa, who is the current SADC chairperson, said here on Sunday night when he closed the SADC Heads of State and Government summit on poverty and development that if an action-oriented approach were not applied, efforts to reduce poverty would be an exercise in futility.
It was time to improve the livelihood of people through deeper and stronger regional integration and also ensure sustainable development.
“It is evident that economic growth and sustainable development are prerequisites of poverty reduction. We need to improve infrastructure and strengthen trade among member states,” he said.
He was happy that SADC leaders had committed themselves to the establishment of the ‘poverty observatory’ so that member states were able to monitor and evaluate efforts towards poverty reduction.
The SADC secretariat should double its efforts and work expeditiously so that resolutions could be implemented for the betterment of the people who were living in abject poverty, particularly those in the rural areas.
He emphasised the need to shift from poverty dialogue to action implementation so that targets were met timely and in an effective manner.
It was time to initiate wealth creation and resource mobilisation by engaging international cooperating partners, the private sector and civil society so that the SADC region could be a poverty-free area.
“We should apply collective efforts to rid this region of poverty. I look forward to a vibrant SADC region where people will live happily,” he said.
Moving a vote of thanks, South African President, Thabo Mbeki, was happy that SADC Heads of State had reaffirmed their resolve to ensure that poverty was eradicated.
Mr Mbeki, who is SADC vice-chairperson, said it was gratifying that the conference was held in an open and serious manner.
The seriousness and commitment with which the summit was handled showed that member states were geared to rid the region of poverty, which had affected a large population of the SADC region.
The Heads of State engaged in consultation and open discussions on various issues affecting the region up to 23:00 hours, local time.
Those who attended the summit included Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba, Mozambique’s Armando Guebuza, Mr Mbeki, King Mswati from Swaziland and Comoros President Ahmed Abdallah.
Angola was represented by Prime Minister Fernando Dias Dos Santos while Seychelles Vice-President Joseph Belmont was also present.
Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili attended the summit while Zimbabwe sent Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer. Foreign Affairs Minister Joyce Banda represented Malawi.
Labels: MWANAWASA, POVERTY, REGIONAL INTEGRATION, SADC
posted by MrK @ 12:21 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home