SADC executive secretary Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax
yesterday paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at State House where they
discussed a number of issues that included the political situation in the
region, climate change and youth unemployment.
Dr Tax met with the President in his capacity as the Sadc
chairperson of the Organ for Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
President Mnangagwa assumed the chairmanship of the Organ
during the Sadc Summit of Heads of State and Government held in, Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania, in August last year.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Dr Tax said she
had briefed the President on the political, peace and security situation in the
region.
“The purpose of my visit was to brief the President of the
Republic of Zimbabwe about the political, peace and security situation in the
region, as he is our current chair of the Organ of Politics, Defence and
Security of Sadc,” she said.
Dr Tax said the region was stable, although there were
challenges in some areas.
Some of the challenges dogging the Sadc region are climate
change, youth unemployment and general tensions, which all need to be
addressed.
“When we talk about peace and security, we look at the
socio-economic and political environment holistically because there are a
number of areas that if not addressed, will impact on the actual peace and
security in the region,” said Dr Tax.
Climate change has affected the region, with several
countries, including Zimbabwe, experiencing devastating droughts and cyclones
in the past three years.
Zimbabwe is experiencing one of its worst droughts since
independence, which has seen at least 7,7 million people requiring food aid.
The drought has impacted cereal production in the region
with output expected at around 30 million tonnes, which will leave a deficit of
nine million tonnes.
Manicaland and Masvingo provinces were battered by Cyclone
Idai last year, leaving over 300 people dead and thousands without food as
crops were swept away while others received a lot of rain that ended up
destroying the crops.
Experts suspect that climate change has since shifted
rainfall patterns, with some parts of Zimbabwe and other countries in Southern
Africa having not yet received decent rains to sustain crops so far in a
development that will force some countries to import grain. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment