CAPE TOWN, Nov. 8 — The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has officially announced the appointment of South Africa as the interim chair of the regional bloc.
According to a communique issued by SADC after its virtual extraordinary summit convened by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday, the summit acknowledged Madagascar’s decision to relinquish its role as the SADC chair, following recent political developments that have impacted its capacity to discharge the responsibilities of the position.
“In accordance with Articles 9A(2)(b) and 10(4) of the SADC Treaty, the Incoming Chairperson (Deputy Chairperson) shall assume interim leadership should the sitting Chair be unable to fulfill their duties.
In this regard, the Republic of South Africa was appointed as Interim Chair of SADC until August 2026,” said the communique.
“The SADC Secretariat will engage Member States, in line with the principle of rotation, to identify a new Incoming Chairperson (Deputy Chairperson) by Nov. 30, 2025,” it added.
In his address at the summit, Ramaphosa called for solidarity and decisive action to deal with the challenges facing the region.
“Indeed, the challenges confronting our region are profound, but they are not terminal. Our collective sense of regional solidarity at this time is our strongest currency,” said Ramaphosa.
“Solidarity at this moment demands courage to act decisively in defense of age-long regional gains.” (Xinhua)
