Pretoria - Regional leaders ended their 30th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) on Tuesday with a pledge to continue with its peace and security efforts in the region.
The leaders, which form the SADC, used the summit to reflect on progress and challenges that continue to hammer regional integration since its formation 30 years ago.
They also dealt with various issues including the regional "hotspots", which include Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Lesotho and the DRC.
In terms of Zimbabwe, SADC put pressure on Zimbabwean leaders to agree on a roadmap leading to a free and fair election, by fully implementing the GPA.
SADC mediator in the Zimbabwe crisis President Jacob Zuma tabled his report to the summit which touched on various issues including the successes and failures of the implementation of the GPA so far.
In a nutshell, the summit of regional leaders wanted order to be restored among Zimbabwean leaders - who remained deadlock on the swearing-in of Roy Bennett and the appointment of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney-General Johannes Tomanato.
The leaders reiterated their call on the international community to lift all forms of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe in view of the negative impact it has on the region in general.
In terms of Madagascar, according to the communiqu,, the Heads of State and Government decided to set up a liaison office for a more closely follow-up of the situation in that country.
They agreed that sanctions should in that country should continue until the country returns to constitutional normalcy.
A constitutional crisis erupted in Madagascar when army-backed Andry Rajoelina seized power from President Marc Ravalomanana.
The two leaders signed a power-sharing agreement with two other former presidents in November last year, but Rajoelina has threatened to disband the government and missed several election deadlines he set. Talks aimed at ending the crisis have failed so far.
With regards to Lesotho, which made new headlines after its Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili survived an assassination attempt by attackers who planned to seize power, the region urged leaders to work together towards the finalisation of the Bill Amending the electoral law as a matter of agency.
Generally the summit noted that other parts of the region remained peaceful.
The summit also approved a recommendation by Ministers of Justice in the region to review the SADC Tribunal's mandate and jurisdiction. The Tribunal has been receiving cases on disputes between natural and legal persons and their countries in the region.
This means that the review of its role, functions and terms of reference of the Tribunal should be undertaken and concluded within six months.
With regards to the food security situation in the region, the summit noted that the region recorded overall increased food production, but noted that the access to food and malnutrition of households' level remained a challenge.
To address this, the summit urged member states to support the African food Basket Initiative which is aimed at transforming food sufficiency.
The summit also endorsed the council's decision on the establishment of the Regional Poverty Observatory which will facilitate the implementation of the SADC Declaration on Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development.
The hunger situation, which stems from the lack of rainfall and drought, is a genuine problem in Southern Africa. UNICEF claims that almost 16 000 children die from hunger-related causes in the region.
In terms of child mortality, which was the theme of the summit, Member States were urged to support safe motherhood programmes in order to reduce maternal, infant and child mortality in line with the Millennium Development Goal commitments.
Economically, the leaders agreed that the region was still recovering from the global economic crisis and outlined policy measures to enable the region to cushion itself from any future economic crisis.
The summit noted that the region needed to apply science and technology for infrastructure development, climate change management and for energy development, adding that these were essential for sustainable growth and development.
The summit also appointed Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba as chairman of the bloc.
