This article was written by Our reporter on 18 August, at 18 : 13 PM
President Robert Mugabe has made history at the recent Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Summit in Malawi by getting a unanimous vote for the post of Vice-Chair.
The 33rd Ordinary Summit for Sadc Heads of States and Governments in Lilongwe, Malawi ended today.
President becomes Sadc’s most voted Head of State and Government since the Post was created. He is followed by Namibian President Pohamba who was voted by 11 Heads of State and Government.
The president was endorsed by all 13 Heads of State and Government in attendance. The only country that was not represented was Madagascar which has no voting rights since 2010.
This unanimous vote means that even Botswana’s President Lt Gen Ian Khama who many say is a critic of President Mugabe voted for him to become Vice-Chair.
The position of Sadc Vice-Chair is the only position that is held through a vote by Heads of State and Government.
The chairmanship is a ceremonial office which is held through rotational representation.
Meanwhile, Tanzania has secured Sadc’s Executive Secretary post with 79 percent votes, replacing the outgoing Executive Secretary Dr. Tomaz Augusto Salomão who had served two terms of eight years with Dr Stergomena L. Tax. The Sadc Council of Ministers voted on Friday night, ending their two-days meeting in Lilongwe, Malawi.
“We won 79 percent of the votes, securing a post of Executive Secretary to be held by Dr. Stergomena L. Tax, currently Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of East African Cooperation,” said the country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Bernard Membe.
“We are just now waiting for the Heads of State and Government to approve the nomination when they meet on 17 to 18 August 2013,” said Membe.
Dr Tax was subsequently endorsed by the Heads of State and Government today.
“This is the first time for a woman to hold such high post in the Community and we are truly honored to have a formidable candidate to secure such a post,” added Hon. Membe.
The Executive Secretary position was tightly fought, leaving the other candidate from Seychelles, Peter Sinon, Minister for Investment Natural Resources and Industry with 72 percent of votes.
The Ministers postponed for one month the voting for a Deputy Executive Secretary position, after the current voting could not come into a consensus terms. South Africa was vying for a Deputy Executive Secretary position.
The Council of Ministers also discussed the future of the SADC Tribunal, its protocol, functions and overall jurisdiction. The Council left the matters to be further explored by the member states’ Attorney Generals and Ministers of Law and Constitution Matters, and that to provide their report by April 2014.
Labels: ROBERT MUGABE, SADC
posted by MrK @ 2:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home