The 18th SADC Summit ended on 15 September in Grand Baie, Mauritius, adopting resolutions aimed at finding lasting solutions to the emerging political problems in some parts of the region.

After meeting into the early hours of the morning, the summit issued a 15-page communiqué after debate that largely centred on the deteriorating political situation in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Lesotho.

Meeting amid a gloomy economic outlook worsened by the pervasive global economic turmoil and the current political crisis in the region, the 12 heads of state or government plus representatives of Malawi and Seychelles, whose leaders could not attend the summit, unanimously agreed on the need for an urgent cooperative effort to tackle the far-reaching political problems.

Host Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam summed up the monumental task facing the summit in his welcome address saying: “We must first and foremost restore the climate of peace and security that is, as we all know, the sine-qua-non for economic development.”

The leaders soundly condemned perpetrators of the political violence in the three SADC countries, and issued a separate statement endorsing a diplomatic drive by Angola to isolate guerrilla chief Jonas Savimbi, branding him a war criminal.

Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos said his government welcomes an initiative by a breakaway group of Unita leaders whom he said were in favour of peaceful dialogue, as opposed to Savimbi who “has been showing unequivocally that he does not want peace in Angola”.

The summit, which hailed the governments of Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe for timeously providing troops to assist the DRC fight rebels and their allies, denied Ugandan and Rwandese delegations access to their discussions. The two countries are not SADC members.

The summit also expressed concern over increased civil disturbances and loss of life in Lesotho following elections early this year which the opposition say were rigged. The leaders pledged support to Prime Minister Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili in maintaining law and order in the beleaguered mountainous kingdom.

However, the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, which many expected to feature prominently during the closed-door talks, was not discussed partly because the three-men committee of Presidents Joaquim Chissano, Bakili Muluzi and Sam Nujoma which was set up last year to chart out the operational modalities of the organ had not finalised its recommendations.

SADC Chairman, President Nelson Mandela presented former Botswana President, Sir Ketumile Masire, with SADC’s most prestigious award, the Seretse Khama SADC Medal. The medal is a preserve of people who are considered to have made outstanding contributions to the achievement of the goals of SADC.

Current vice chairman, President Chissano will host the next summit in Maputo.