Chakwera says his Sadc leadership has been good challenge

President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has said his time at the helm of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has been a good challenge.
The President, however, added that despite facing difficult times he has all the hope that he has achieved all he set himself to achieve during his one year leadership.
“It has been a good challenge. Malawi has experienced a greatest number of SADC meetings at almost every level taking place in this country. We have seen things to deal with more integration, more industrialization, more resilience, more peace and security and what we need to do together to advance as a region,” said Dr. Chakwera.

Chiefs and Cabinet Ministers interacts with President Lazarus Chakwera before departure for DRC at KIA- pic by Lisa Kadango Malango
The President made the remarks on Tuesday morning at Kamuzu International Airport on departure for this year’s SADC Conference in the Democratic Republic Of Congo where he is set to handover the Chairmanship.
Said Dr Chakwera: “I have achieved almost all what I wanted to achieve during these difficult times. We have remained united as a bloc and I hope this is going to continue as I hand over the SADC Chairmanship to DRC.”
Dr Lazarus Chakwera and Madame Monica Chakwera (front) with delegates that welcomed them in Kinshasa, DRC on Tuesday

President Dr. Chakwera also said he believes that Malawi as a country has benefitted a lot especially in areas of infrastructure Development, industrialization as well as peace and security.

Chakwera took over the SADC Chairmanship from his Mozambican counterpart Felipe Nyusi last year.
DRC president Felix Chitshekedi is scheduled to take over from Dr Chakwera.
On Monday President Dr Chakwera also hinted that he was leaving the SADC office a happy man after successfully accomplishing a number of SADC programs aimed at strengthening regional integration.
Chakwera ascended into SADC chairmanship last year while Mozambique war with rebel groups was at its peak.
Few months in office Dr Chakwera approved that SADC should  intervene to end the war in Mozambique and SADC agreed with him to deploy troops to Mozambique.
SADC Executive Secretary Stergomena Tax in one of the summits in Maputo, stressed the urgent need for such interventions as a bloc.
The Maputo summit saw the 16-member bloc of southern African countries approving the deployment of the Standby Force.
Tax said the standby force was part of a regional defence pact that allows military intervention to prevent the spread of conflict.
Nearly 3,000 people have been killed and almost 800,000, half of whom are children, have been forced from their homes in gas-rich Cabo Delgado province since the conflict began in 2017.
Again while in office Chakwera worked tirelessly during the peak of the Covid 19 outbreak advocating for the region to have same standards of vaccine just like the developed world. He also pushed for better terms of engagement in trade between the developed world and Africa.
This is what Chakwera said in his acceptance speech: “Our message to those nations that promote and perpetuate this framework is simple: You are using a tired and failed formula. African countries are full members of the global community, period. As such, for the sake of the dignity of all human beings everywhere, we as Africans have a moral duty to refuse to be treated as second class citizens.
“We as Africans have a moral duty to refuse second class status in the rules of engagement for participating in the global economy. So the time has come for us to work together to put the ratified African Free Trade Area to full use until the economic rules that disadvantage our nations are rewritten.”

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