The SADC’s sixteen member states were urged to speak with one voice a few years ago by President Lazarus Chakwera, the regional bloc’s former chair. The African Philosophy of Ubuntu, which essentially promotes unity, must be valued by member states of the regional bloc, he noted.
However, the past months have demonstrated that the regional bloc, just as with Covid-19, is far from taking a coordinated stance on the Ukrainian conflict. Some people believed member states would closely coordinate their efforts to address the region’s challenges given the war’s significant economic effects on energy, food supplies and markets.
A Communique of the Extra-Ordinary Organ Troika Summit held in Windhoek in January, 2023 states that the summit, “adopted the draft SADC Declaration on the USA proposed ‘Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act’ which shall be submitted to the African Union Commission for consideration and urged Member States to communicate SADC’s position and reaffirmed the stance of Non-Alignment on conflicts outside the continent and the region at multilateral fora.”
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