Press Release
Speaker says SADC Regional Parliament no threat to national sovereignty
10 Apr 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumBy Moses Magadza recently in Botswana
The Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, has said that the establishment of a SADC Regional Parliament would not infringe on the independence of Member States nor require any significant added resources.
Adv. Mudenda gave the assurance shortly after the signing of the Agreement Amending the SADC Treaty to establish a SADC Regional Parliament recently by the President of Botswana, Advocate Duma Boko recently. He said the signing marks the culmination of a 15-year journey toward greater regional legislative cooperation.
SADC PF mourns the passing of Clerk of the National Assembly of Zambia
09 Apr 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumBy Moses Magadza
Windhoek, Namibia - The SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) has expressed sorrow following the death of Mr. Roy Ngulube, the Clerk of the National Assembly of Zambia, who died on 7 April 2025 while on official duty in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Mr. Ngulube was in Tashkent as part of a Zambian parliamentary delegation attending the 150th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, led by Speaker Nelly Mutti.
“Are we really here?” – Katjavivi reacts to transformation of SADC PF
01 Apr 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumBy Moses Magadza
Gaborone, Botswana – In Luke 2:25-32, Simeon, a devout man who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen Christ, said - upon holding the infant Jesus in his hands - “Sovereign Lord, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen salvation.”
Last week, in a similar moment thick with emotion and decades of anticipation, Prof. Peter Katjavivi, the former Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia and a member of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) Transformation Lobby Team, delivered a stirring address at the signing of the Agreement to Amend the SADC Treaty to establish the SADC PF as an official institution of the regional bloc.
SADC urges swift ratification of all regional treaties
01 Apr 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumBy Moses Magadza
Gaborone, Botswana - The Executive Secretary of SADC, Mr. Elias Magosi, has hailed the recent signing of the Agreement to amend the SADC Treaty to transform the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) into a regional parliament by Botswana’s President Advocate Duma Boko.
He, however, called for the active involvement of the region’s parliaments to ensure swift ratification of regional instruments.
Botswana Speaker says SADC Regional Parly will boost citizens’ participation
01 Apr 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumBy Moses Magadza
Gaborone, Botswana - The Speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana, Honourable Dithapelo Lefoko Keorapetse has said that the transformation of the SADC Parliamentary Forum into a regional parliament will improve SADC citizens’ participation in regional affairs.
The Speaker made the remarks on Wednesday last week when the President of Botswana, Advocate Duma Boko signed the Agreement amending the SADC Treaty to recognize the SADC Parliament as an official institution of the regional bloc.
BOTSWANA SIGNS THE AGREEMENT AMENDING THE SADC TREATY TO ESTABLISH THE SADC PARLIAMENT
27 Mar 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumThe 26th March 2025, will go into history as the day Botswana appended her signature to the agreement amending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Treaty, to establish the SADC Parliament as one of the SADC Institutions. This agreement was signed by the President of the Republic of Botswana, Advocate Duma Gideon Boko, and it makes the total number of the SADC member states who have already signed, thirteen.
UNAIDS urges urgent action to protect women and girls from HIV amid shrinking resources
19 Mar 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumFrom Moses Magadza in New York
NEW YORK, USA - UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Ms Christine Stegling has urged global leaders to prioritise HIV prevention and treatment for women and girls in the face of shrinking resources.
She made the call at a high-level side event hosted by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) at the ongoing 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) here.
Speaking on the theme, “The Urgency of HIV Prevention and Treatment for Women and Girls: Resolution 60/2 in the Context of Shrinking Resources for the HIV Response”, Ms Stegling noted SADC’s leadership in championing the CSW Resolution 60/2 as a critical instrument for advancing gender equality and ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Growing calls for stronger action on gender equality and HIV
18 Mar 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumBy Moses Magadza in New York
New York, USA - Zimbabwe’s Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Honourable Monica Mutsvangwa, has urged Southern African countries and the global community to intensify efforts in tackling the structural drivers of women and girls’ vulnerability to HIV and gender inequality.
The Minister made the call during a Southern African Development Community (SADC) side event at the ongoing 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) here on March 17, 2025.
SADC PF training highlights challenges and opportunities within African trade
21 Feb 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumBy Moses Magadza
Windhoek, Namibia - An online training on trade-related issues has highlighted the challenges and opportunities within African trade, underlining the dominance of global markets over intra-African trade.
The Executive Director of Tralac, Trudi Hartzenberg, and Professor Gerhard Erasmus, a Tralac Associate, facilitated during the training, which drew the participation of SADC Members of parliament and staff of national parliaments.
Speaker calls for economic self-sufficiency as SADC PF trade training gets underway
20 Feb 2025 Written by SADC Parliamentary ForumBy Moses Magadza
Windhoek, Namibia - The Speaker of the Parliament of Botswana, Hon. Dithapelo Keorapetse, has urged African nations to move towards economic self-sufficiency by leveraging the continent’s vast natural and human resources.
Hon Keorapetse, Southern Africa’s youngest ever Speaker at the age of 42, made the call at the official opening of an online training workshop on trade-related issues, jointly organised by the Trade and Law Centre (Tralac) and the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), with support from SIDA.
