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School heads have broken with tradition and joined teachers in demanding better salaries, declaring that they will not report for duty when schools open next term. Ordinarily, school heads do not participate in any job action, often acting as enforcers of government policy. Last week, they vowed to stand in solidarity with their subordinates, as they also feel the punch of the economic

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Sunday Mail Reporter

Countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) must prioritise value addition of natural resources to drive industrialisation, create jobs, increase intra-regional trade, promote technological advancement and improve livelihoods.

This was said by outgoing chairperson of SADC, President Mnangagwa, in his speech to mark SADC Day, which is commemorated on August 17 every year.

The day is in remembrance of the signing of the 1992 SADC Declaration and Treaty by Heads of State and Government in Windhoek, Namibia, which formally established SADC and provided the legal framework for regional cooperation.

President Mnangagwa said youth, women and skilled human capital were key catalysts to unlocking sustainable development and industrialisation of the region.

“Today marks a historic occasion as we commemorate SADC Day. This day marks the beginning of a new era of unity, peace, solidarity, integration and cooperation. We reaffirm these values which have continued to define our regional community,” President Mnangagwa told regional leaders and citizens in remarks broadcast across the region.

“As the peoples of the SADC region, let us celebrate and honour our visionary founding fathers by recommitting to our shared vision of an integrated, industrialised, prosperous and peaceful SADC region.”

President Mnangagwa, who will be handing over the chairpersonship of the 16-member bloc to Madagascar’s President Andry Nirina Rajoelina today, emphasised that industrialisation was critical to establishing a prosperous region.

“We must scale up our collective efforts to value add and beneficiate our natural resources. Increased trade in what we produce within our respective countries is critically important in our quest to accelerate regional integration,” he said.

“The youth, women and our skilled human capital are key catalysts to unlocking sustainable development and industrialisation of the region.

“As such, innovation and entrepreneurship among these demographic groups must be encouraged and deliberately promoted.”

Skills development and education systems that recognise unique cultural and rich natural resources, he added, must be more integrated to make the regional bloc ready for the world of the future.

President Mnangagwa stressed the importance of embedding SADC’s Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 into national development strategies to ensure coherent progress towards long-term goals.

“Integration of these frameworks into our national developmental plans should remain a priority,” he said.

He welcomed progress in regional infrastructure initiatives under the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa and the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan.

These projects, he said, were designed to improve cross-border connectivity in energy, information and communication technologies, and transport.

The President said the region’s target to ensure universal energy access by 2040 could be realised by leveraging the vast solar and wind potential in SADC.

“By leveraging our vast solar and wind potential, we can power our industries and also lead the way to a greener future, while creating new opportunities and leading the way to a higher quality of life for our people,” he said.

Consolidating peace and security

The President underlined the importance of stability in fostering growth.

SADC has made strides in “silencing the guns” through efforts to resolve the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by working jointly with the East African Community.

“A stable and secure Southern Africa is better positioned to attract investment, foster innovation and create diverse opportunities,” he said.

“To date, we continue to make progress towards silencing the guns in our region and continent.”

He warned that no member state should be excluded from the integration process, saying: “The onus to build, develop, industrialise and ensure full integration of our region lies with us. No country in our region must be left behind.”

The President rooted his call for action in the bloc’s founding principles, dating back to the Southern African Development Coordination Conference of 1980.

“Let us, therefore, work together with greater unity of purpose as we foster peace, security and a prosperous Southern Africa for both present and future generations,” he said.

He once again reminded the region that the “SADC we want shall be built by its people”.

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Debra Matabvu

PRESIDENT MNANGAGWA’S tenure as chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will go down in history as having advanced peace and stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under the African union (AU)’s “Silencing the Guns” initiative.

The President’s one-year tenure, which ends today when he hands over the chairpersonship to  Madagascar’s Andry Rajoelina, will also be remembered for bringing together two regional blocs — SADC and the East African Community (EAC) — as part of a historic push to spearhead efforts to curb conflict in the eastern DRC.

In an interview yesterday, Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), Mr George Charamba, said, under Zimbabwe’s leadership, the two regional blocs led efforts to facilitate the merger of the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes into a single African-led framework.

“I would suggest and strongly argue that the biggest and foremost achievement that we registered as the chairman of SADC related to silencing the guns,” Mr Charamba said.

“This is the mantra of the African Union, which is in fact the mother body within which we locate sub-regional bodies like SADC. The African union has taken a position to say that we must achieve universal peace on the continent to enable development.

“What that means is the African union then sub-contracts that assignment to sub-regional organisations, of which SADC is one such, to ensure that there is peace, and that peace reigns and prevails within every building block; in our case, in respect of SADC.”

Mr Charamba said during his tenure as SADC chairperson, President Mnangagwa, for the first time, brought together two regional blocs in an effort to find lasting peace in the eastern DRC.

“So, really, the issue of the Congo loomed large, both at the time of assumption of our chairmanship and as well as during our tenure as the chairman,” Mr Charamba added.

“You saw there was an escalation of conflict in the eastern part of the DRC, and an escalation that in fact drew in even countries that lay outside the SADC region, which is why, through his good guidance, through his good leadership, you find that the chairman was able to cause a joint summit of two sub-regional bodies of the African Union, namely SADC and EAC.

“This is the first ever time that we see two regional building blocs putting their collective heads together in order to cobble peace; and not just once, they did it twice with the chairmen of both sub-regional bodies, then finally meeting to see what was in fact a landmark and precedent-setting decision of those two regional blocs —  and all in the interest of peace.

“Now there is no more conflict in the DRC, or if it is, it is in a very sporadic and subdued form. So, for me, and for Zimbabwe, this was a key achievement by President ED Mnangagwa as the chairman of SADC.”

Mr Charamba said during his tenure as SADC chairperson, President Mnangagwa focused on consolidating the disjointed peace efforts under the Luanda and Nairobi processes, which have since been harmonised into a single regional framework to ensure credibility and respect across the continent.

“There was actually a dire need for us to tidy up that front, to make sure that we have one consolidated, joint regional peace process, which would command the respect of both building blocs. That was done,” he added.

He emphasised that despite the emergence of the other initiatives such as the Qatar and United States peace processes, President Mnangagwa and his Kenyan counterpart, President William Ruto, who is the chairperson of the EAC, brought harmony in these processes.

Value addition

President Mnangagwa also stood out for his emphasis on beneficiating minerals in the region and across the continent.

“The second aspect, which would really again show very foresighted leadership on the part of Zimbabwe, had to do with realising the importance of beneficiating our own resources in the region through industrialisation,” Mr Charamba added.

“You notice that for Zimbabwe it was no news. We were doing it already. But now it has become a sub-regional agenda. In fact, I dare say, a continental agenda to the extent that other sub-regions are also taking notes from us.

“In the case of Zimbabwe, in respect of our lithium, in respect of our chrome, in respect of all, virtually almost all our minerals, we are insisting on value addition for purposes of reshoring the processing of those minerals to build more jobs and to get more returns for our own economy.

“So, it is now a sub-regional agenda. And this coming again in the background of two key global developments, which again shows you the foresightedness of the President’s leadership of SADC.

“The first development, which is very, very adverse, relates to the tariff wars, which the US provoked, and which has created all sorts of confusion in terms of international trade.

“So, you can imagine how much of victims SADC was going to be as a bloc and individually if we were not prepared for that kind of adverse global development.”

Mr Charamba said the second adverse factor that could be made reference to related to the conflict situation in global affairs.

“And we saw how that negatively affected supply chains in practically all aspects that are so critical to our own economic development, but where you have a new leadership and a sub-regional outlook which emphasises continental free trade, then it means Africa can look at its own capacity and resources to be able to move forward,” he said.

“So that was a key element in terms of our chairmanship of SADC.”

Mr Charamba said President Mnangagwa’s SADC chairpersonship was marked by the introduction of a philosophy drawn from Zimbabwe’s national mantra, “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”.

This, he said, underscored the importance of infrastructure for trade and regional integration, with Zimbabwe providing leadership through example in laying the groundwork for sub-regional cohesion and growth.

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Mukudzei Chingwere

VICE PRESIDENT Dr Constantino Chiwenga has praised the Jesuit Society and the Roman Catholic Church for their role in strengthening the country’s tertiary education.

He was speaking yesterday when he officially opened the 2025 academic year at Arrupe Jesuit University in Harare.

VP Chiwenga highlighted the university’s mission to produce not only knowledgeable graduates, but also ethically grounded citizens.

He noted that the institution’s philosophy, enshrined in its charter and statutes, promotes the holistic development of mind, body and spirit, encouraging students to pursue programmes that sharpen both intellect and compassion.

“You are all aware that Arrupe Jesuit University was established as a private university on June 1, 2020,” said VP Chiwenga.

“I wish to commend the Jesuit Society and the Roman Catholic Church in Zimbabwe for their invaluable role in advancing high-quality tertiary education in our country.

“Your commitment to nurturing critical thinkers and well-rounded citizens, equipped not only with academic knowledge, but also grounded in strong moral values, is highly commendable. Through partnerships such as these, the Government’s vision for a transformed education sector is amplified and realised in meaningful ways.”

He applauded the institution’s contribution to national development through producing graduates who are socially responsible and ethically sound.

VP Chiwenga urged the students to embrace the values of Jesuit tradition, which are centred on justice, knowledge and service.

“Remember that your time here is not solely for acquiring academic credentials, but also for shaping yourselves into individuals who will meaningfully contribute to society and the broader development of our nation,” he said.

Dr Chiwenga also underscored the university’s alignment with the Government’s Education 5.0 philosophy, which integrates technology, innovation and entrepreneurship into learning.

He called on students to be proactive in driving industrialisation and economic growth.

“This paradigm shift seeks to revolutionise our education system, enabling our youth to become active drivers of industrialisation, modernisation and economic growth.

“I therefore call upon all students to embrace this vision wholeheartedly. Strive for excellence, pursue innovation and remain steadfast in your commitment to personal and national development.  You are the future leaders of Zimbabwe, and it is through your dedication that our country will achieve sustainable progress and prosperity,” he said.

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