Buoyed by prospects of a six percent economic growth in 2006, SADC Member States have moved to strengthen the region's competitiveness as an investment destination.
The economy of the 14-member SADC expanded by five percent in 2005 and is expected to better that performance this year on the back of strong performances by countries such as Angola.
Angola achieved the highest real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2005 of 15.6 percent, followed by Botswana at 8.3 percent, Mozambique at 7.7 percent and the United Republic of Tanzania with 6.9 percent growth. [read more]
ZAMBIA used a new computerised voter system during the 28 September tripartite elections as part of measures to improve the administration of elections and boost voter confidence.
The country voted for the President of the Republic, members of parliament and city councillors. For the first time, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) used an electronic system in which voter details were loaded onto a database, making it less prone to manipulation in the verification of voters' identification.
Previous polls have been conducted using national identification documents.
The new system uses “biometrics”, that is, fingerprints, palm prints or iris scans to provide an accurate identification and verification of a voter. [read more]
WINNERS OF the SADC Schools Essay Competition for 2006 were announced during the SADC Summit and presented with their prizes.
The topic for the 2006 competition was “Food and Nutrition in the SADC region has been unsatisfactory for many years now. Discuss the causes of this situation and suggest possible actions which the people and governments of SADC should take to ensure that there is adequate food available for proper nutrition in the region.”
Herry Mapesi of Benjamin
W. Mkapa High School in the
United Republic of Tanzania
won first prize.
[read more]