Final Communiqué of the 28th Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government

1. The Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was held in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa from August 16 to 17, 2008.

2. The Summit was officially opened by Hon. Kabinga J. Pande, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Zambia and SADC Chairperson, H.E. Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, SC.

3.   Summit elected H.E. Mr. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, the President of the Republic of South Africa and H.E. President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo as Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of SADC respectively.

4.  Summit elected H.M. King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Swaziland and H.E. President Armando Emilio Guebuza of the Republic of Mozambique as Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation respectively.

5. The Summit was attended by the following Heads of State and Government:

6. The following organisations were also represented at the Summit: African Union Commission (AUC); United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA); East African Community (EAC); Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU); SADC Tribunal; SADC Parliamentary Forum; Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS) and the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

7.  H.E. President Mbeki, host of the 28th Summit, welcomed the SADC Heads of State and Government and other delegates to the Republic of South Africa.

8.  The Summit’s Outgoing Chairperson H.E. President Mwanawasa, in an  address read on his behalf by his Special Representative, Hon. Pande, thanked Member States for the support rendered to him during his tenure. He emphasised the importance of upholding peace, security and democracy as a prerequisite for advancing the regional development agenda. He noted the progress made towards deeper regional integration, specifically the launch of the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) that took place during the sitting of Summit. He further emphasised the need for infrastructure development, food security as well as strengthening the capacity of the SADC Secretariat in order to ensure effective implementation of regional integration programmes. He handed over the SADC Chairpersonship to H.E. President Mbeki.

9. In accepting the SADC Chairpersonship, H.E. President Mbeki thanked the Outgoing Chairperson for the progress achieved during his leadership of SADC and on behalf of Summit expressed the wish for President Mwanawasa’s speedy recovery. He recalled that the strength and achievement of SADC over many years has been derived from its political unity and cohesion and that this will be required in order to address the current challenges facing the region, including reversing marginalisation, and addressing the twin scourges of underdevelopment and poverty.

10. The Summit received a Report from the Outgoing Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, H.E. President José Eduardo dos Santos, on the implementation of the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ (SIPO), with specific reference to the political and security situation in the Region.

11.  Summit recognised that the region had managed to consolidate peace and democracy in SADC. With regard to the ongoing challenges in Zimbabwe, Summit noted the outcomes of the Extraordinary Summit of the Organ held during the course of the Summit and reaffirmed its commitment to work with the people of Zimbabwe in order to overcome the challenges they are facing.

12. On the economic front, Summit noted the positive economic performance recorded by SADC Member States in 2007 and called for concerted efforts to sustain this progress. Against this background, Summit observed with concern the new challenges emerging as a result of especially the energy and food price crises which risk reversing the gains made by the region.

13. Summit reviewed the progress report of the Ministerial Task Force on Food Security and adopted various measures aimed at enhancing regional food security including the establishment of a Regional Food Reserve Facility.

14.  Summit welcomed the initiatives currently underway to mitigate against the negative consequences of the critical shortage and high prices of energy faced by the region.

15.  Summit launched the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) which is the first milestone in the regional economic integration agenda. Summit recognises that free trade in the region will create a larger market, releasing potential for trade, economic development and employment creation.

16. Summit called for the  acceleration of interventions to further deepen regional integration agenda through the development of a programme of cooperation aimed at expanding regional production capacity which entails provision and rehabilitation of regional infrastructure to take advantage of a more open regional economy. In addition, Summit emphasised the need for full implementation of the SADC Protocol on Trade in order to ensure that the FTA is sustainable and the envisaged Customs Union in SADC is attainable.

17.   Summit signed the following legal instruments:

i) Agreement Amending the Treaty;
ii) Protocol on Gender and Development;
iii) Protocol on Science, Technology and Innovation;
iv) Agreement Amending Article 20 of the Protocol on Trade;
v) Agreement Amending Article 6 of the Protocol on the Tribunal and the Rules of Procedure Thereof;

18.  Summit welcomed Seychelles back as a member of SADC

19.  Summit welcomed progress on the preparations for the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Summit to be held in October 2008 as an important vehicle for harmonisation of the regional integration programmes and also constitutes an important framework for broader Continental integration.

20. The Summit expressed its appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of South Africa for the warm hospitality extended to all delegates and facilities provided.

21. His Excellency President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki officially closed the Summit. The 2009 Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sandton, Republic of South Africa
August 17, 2008