Zambia President Edgar Chagwa Lungu – fresh from losing the elections in his country to Hakainde Hichilema – is attending one last Southern African Development Community (SADC) hurrah in Malawi.
Lungu is attending the 41st SADC Summit in Lilongwe which is running from 17 to 18 August 2021.
It will be the last time Lungu attends a SADC summit as a head of state.
Lungu met other heads of state including South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In a statement released Tuesday Ramaphosa said, “on behalf of the government and people of South Africa” he was offering “his warm congratulations to President-Elect Hakainde Hichilema of the Republic of Zambia”.
Ramaphosa said the success of the recent presidential election provides the basis for continued stability and development in Zambia and the southern African region.
Ramaphosa expressed his appreciation to the government and electoral authority of Zambia for holding a successful election amid the danger of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The South African president also offered his appreciation to outgoing President Lungu for his leadership during his term in office and his role as a partner for peace and development within SADC.
The two-day SADC 41st Ordinary Summit will take stock of progress made in promoting and deepening regional integration.
Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa are expected to update the summit about stability in their countries.
Mozambique is fighting an insurgency in the north with the help of troops from SADC member states. Swaziland is in the midst of a political uprising that has left many people dead.
South African authorities recently put down unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces that culminated in looting, burning, and destruction of infrastructure worth billions of rand.
Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera will take over the chairpersonship of SADC from Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi.
Executive Secretary of SADC Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax will bid farewell after serving for 8 years. A new executive secretary will be sworn in.
