ACCEPTANCE STATEMENT BY HER EXCELLENCY DR. JOYCE BANDA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE THIRTY THIRD ORDINARY SUMMIT OF THE SADC HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT LILONGWE, MALAWI SATURDAY, 17th AUGUST, 2013 • Your Excellency, Armando Emilio Guebuza, Chairperson of SADC, and President of the Republic of Mozambique; • Your Excellency, Jakaya Kikwete, Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation, and President of the United Republic of Tanzania; • Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government; • Your Excellencies, First Spouses; • Your Excellency, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; • Your Honour Henry Chimunthu Banda, MP, Speaker of the National Assembly; • Your Honour Anastasia Msosa SC, Chief Justice of the Republic of Malawi; • Your Excellencies, High Commissioners and Ambassadors accredited to Malawi; • Your Excellency, Dr Tomaz Augusto Salomão, SADC Executive Secretary; • Your Excellency, Dr Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank; • Your Excellency, Dr Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); • Your Excellencies, Heads of Regional and International Organisations here present; • Your Excellencies, Secretary Generals of COMESA and East African Community; • Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers; • Honourable Ministers; • Officials from the SADC Member States; • Distinguished Delegates, Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am humbled to stand here before you all and accept the leadership of our regional body, the Southern African Development Community (SADC). I want to thank my Dear Brother, His Excellency Armando Emilio Guebuza, President of the Republic of Mozambique and Outgoing Chairperson of SADC, for his wise leadership during his one year tenure of office. I wish to acknowledge in a special the support that I have received from President Guebuza which has prepared me for the role of Chairmanship that I have assumed. Furthermore, I acknowledge the leadership provided by my Brother, His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, and the Outgoing Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, in promoting the principles of democracy, rule of law, peace and security in the Region. On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Malawi, and indeed, on my own behalf, I wish to thank Your Excellencies and your respective Governments for your commitment to championing the SADC integration agenda, and facilitating the implementation of its programmes and projects, through your able steering of Summit and Council Decisions. Both President Guebuza and President Kikwete have been actively involved in peace seeking efforts in our region- this is what SADC is known for: a peace loving region. I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate my Dear Brother, His Excellency Hifipunye Pohamba, President of the Republic of Namibia, and Incoming Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. I have every confidence that together we can drive the agenda for sustainable peace and security in our region. Your Excellencies and Distinguished Delegates Each year we gather to discuss what we might do together to address the problems that confront the peoples of our region. The expectations of our people are high. As incoming Chair, I feel the weight of these expectations. Your Excellencies and Distinguished Delegates Millions of our young people in the region face a daily struggle to survive: they cannot find jobs. They cannot go to school. Even if they do, they are not able to secure employable skills. Millions of our women and men struggle to survive in conditions of poverty, deprivation and underdevelopmen t. They are hungry for food, through no fault of their own. They die from preventable diseases, through no fault of their own. They die giving birth to another life, through no fault of their own. They are raped in their homes and communities. They suffer violence at home, at school, and in their communities, through no fault of their own. Many of them have lost their dignity, through no fault of their own. These are the SADC citizens who pay taxes. These are SADC citizens who vote. These are our citizens and our neighbours. They work for us and we work for them. And yet, when they hear our voices and observe our actions, they see that in reality, sometimes we do not always work for them. Our actions suggest that the poor should care for the poor. I strongly believe, as I am sure yo
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 11:21:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015