BY SYLIVESTER DOMASA
12th July 2013
“The mediation process of the Malawi-Tanzania Lake Nyasa border wrangle under the forum of retired heads of states of SADC member countries and has been progressing well,” he said without going further into details.
Gahama was briefing reporters during the on-going 15th meeting of the Ministerial Committee Organ (MCO) on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, held in Dar es Salaam.
Last month, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Bernard Membe told the Parliament that a panel of advocates led by Attorney General’s chambers would soon submit evidence to a panel of former heads of states of SADC member countries who are currently working on the matter.
Ambassador Gahama told reporters that a number of issues related to politics, defence and security cooperation are being discussed in the on-going SADC meeting attended by permanent secretaries from the region’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ministries.
“We are still preparing a regional report on the matter which will be presented during the ministers’ of Foreign Affairs and International Relations meeting tomorrow,” he said, advising reporters to wait for more information from the report.
Among other things, he said the MCO was reviewing the political and security situation in the region, implementation of the strategic indicative plan for the organ (SIPO), consolidation of democracy in the region as well as discussing the SADC-EU regional political cooperation.
He added that the meeting also addressed the political situation and elections in Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Madagascar.
He said each member country presented a report, with Tanzania reporting on its agreement to deploy troops to restore peace in the Eastern DR-Congo.
The report on the state of security in the region will be revealed tomorrow.
Ambassador Gahama said Tanzania and SADC member countries were against the decision by Madagascar’s former President Marc Ravalomanana to have his wife Lalao Ravalomanana enter the presidential elections.
He said the government and SADC member states called upon the conflicting sides of Andry Rajoelina and Ravalomanana to stay out of the elections to pave the way for an election that would reinstate a constitutional government.
Currently, Madagascar is under a ‘High Transitional Authority’ run by Rajoelina who used the military to force the resignation of President Ravolomanana in 2009.
Both parties agreed before the SADC Troika Security Organ Chaired by President Jakaya Kikwete early this year, that Ravolomanana and Rajoelina shouldn’t participate in the presidential elections which were scheduled for May this year, but later postponed to July 24, only to be postponed yet again following emergence of disputes between Ravalomanana and Rajoelina.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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