Mpango to represent Samia in SADC meeting

TANZANIA: VICE- PRESIDENT Dr Philip Mpango is today expected to travel to Lusaka, Zambia to represent President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the Tripartite Meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) scheduled for tomorrow.

Information released by the Government Communication Unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation on Wednesday stated that the meeting will, among other things, focus on security issues in SADC countries, particularly in Cabo Delgado State in Mozambique and the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to the statement, the meeting to be held is preceded by preparatory meetings at the expert level that started on March 17th, and will conclude with the meeting of foreign affairs ministers and permanent secretaries today.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, January Makamba, is expected to join his fellow ministers from other countries at the crucial meeting.

Furthermore, the statement noted that Tanzania has been fully participating in all levels of the meeting for the welfare of the bloc.

“Tanzania, as a member of SADC and as one of the countries contributing to the peacekeeping forces in Mozambique and DRC, participates fully in all levels of the conference,” statement reads in part.

Mozambique government has been fighting insurgency in Cabo Delgado province, with latest news stating that counterinsurgency efforts significantly yielded positive results.

Some experts now say that continuous operations by the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces (FADM), Southern African Development Community (SAMIM) and troops from Rwanda have significantly reduced terrorist attacks.

Mozambican army said during a mid-December press conference that security was re-established in about 90 per cent of Cabo Delgado districts affected by terrorism.

Authorities also say that nearly 1 million people displaced by violence in the province have returned to their homes.

However experts in peace and security matters warned that fewer attacks did not mean the insurgency was over.

According to a 2023 United Nations Security Council report, the number of IS fighters in Mozambique decreased from a peak of 2,500  before SAMIM and Rwandan forces arrived to about 280.

Last month, SADC confirmed that it had started contributing contingents to its mission in response to the resurgence of attacks by the March 23 Movement (M23) in the eastern region of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

South Africa, Malawi, and Tanzania are the regional countries that had begun deploying military contingents to the DRC before Burundi army later joined the force that is coordinated by South Africa’s army.

Burundi is not a member of SADC but is part of the East Africa Community and its troops were deployed in Eastern DRC under the East African Community Regional Forces before they were withdrawn in December last year.

It was the duty of SADC member states to contribute contingents to the DRC, as was the case in Mozambique, in accordance with a decision by SADC heads of state and government.

The action stems from the member countries’ concerns about the worsening humanitarian situation in the Eastern DRC following the resurgence of attacks by the M23, which violated the existing cease-fire.