Mass Media News

Category: SADC

  • Children Day Symbolizes Renewed Commitment

    Children Day Symbolizes Renewed Commitment

    President Advocate Duma Boko on Saturday, hosted a special luncheon bringing together children from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC), marking a significant moment in the region’s ongoing commitment to child rights, participation and empowerment.

    The event followed a morning of youth-focused activities and dialogues centred on strengthening regional cooperation to uplift and protect children. Ministry for International Relations head of consular services, Ms Tebatso Baleseng said that the gathering served as a reminder to regional leaders to place children at the centre of all decision-making processes.

    Ms Baleseng underscored the centrality of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in guiding policy across the region, adding that children must be promoted, protected and respected within each of the Southern African countries and collectively across the region.

    She said that the luncheon was not simply a ceremonial gathering but a reaffirmation of the region’s responsibility to view children not just as beneficiaries of protection, but as rights holders with the agency to influence future development.

    The presence of children and youth at the event symbolises a renewed commitment to creating platforms where young people could articulate their aspirations and concerns. Ms Baleseng therefore, urged leaders across the region to open avenues for meaningful dialogue with children, ensuring that youth perspectives guided the policies and decisions that affected them.

    The luncheon formed part of ongoing regional efforts to strengthen child-centric governance, promote youth engagement and build a future where young voices were recognised as essential to shaping Southern Africa’s development agenda.

    In attendance to the lunch were regional leaders across SADC, senior government officials and members of the diplomatic community, underscoring the spirit of cooperation and shared development priorities across Southern Africa.

  • Angola and Botswana Forge Relations Within SADC and AU

    Angola and Botswana Forge Relations Within SADC and AU

    Botswana and Angola have forged partnership in African solidarity and strengthened through many years of cooperation within the frameworks of SADC and the African Union, says Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of International Relations Mr Thuso Ramodimoosi.

    Mr Ramodimoosi said this at the commemoration of Angola’s 50th anniversary of independence. He said the partnership is sustained by a shared commitment to the development and advancement of each other’s peoples.

    Botswana and Angola collaborate across a wide range of sectors, including water resources, conservation, agriculture, transport, mining, and energy, as well as in the promotion of peace and security in the region.

    Mr Ramodimoosi reaffirmed the commitment of the government of Botswana to strengthening the bonds of friendship and bilateral cooperation with Angola. He said the two countries are leading diamond-producing countries, and they were deepening their partnership and collaboration in the diamond mining sector.

    Additionally, he said the two countries, together with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, and South Africa, signed the Luanda Accord, which is a landmark agreement in the promotion of natural diamonds.

    Meanwhile, Ambassador of Angola to Botswana Ms Beatriz Morais said Angola has prioritised strengthening cooperation in areas of politics and diplomacy, oil and petroleum products, energy and water, agriculture and livestock, as well as telecommunications, diamonds and other minerals, tourism, and the environment, particularly biodiversity conservation.

    “In addition to bilateral issues, Angola and Botswana have multilateral relations at the SADC level, including the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), the Zambezi River Basin Commission (ZAMCOM) and the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM), with the aim of strengthening regional integration,” said Ms. Morais.

    She acknowledged and recognized the role and contribution played by other African governments for the national liberation struggle of Angola, for the country’s peace to be a reality, and for reconstruction and development to take place to this day. 

    “This is a gesture of recognition and acknowledgment to these peoples and countries, including Botswana, for their invaluable support for the Angolan people at different times in our history,” she said.

    Ms Morais further said the 50-year milestone of Angola’s independence urges them as a country to look back at the road they travelled toward building a developed and prosperous Angola: from resistance to colonial oppression and the emergence of Angolan nationalism, from the national liberation struggle to the conquest of national independence, from armed conflict among children of the same land to the embrace of reconciliation, and from the destruction wrought by war to national reconstruction. 

    She said the milestone is also a sublime moment to reflect on the future they are building with the contribution of all Angolans.

  • SADC Launches Regional Communication, Awareness & Visibility Strategy 2025–2030

    SADC Launches Regional Communication, Awareness & Visibility Strategy 2025–2030

    The Southern African Development Community (SADC) continues to serve as a platform for harmonising regional policies, pooling resources and addressing shared development challenges in areas such as trade, infrastructure, security and governance. Speaking at the launch of the SADC Communication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy 2025–2030 in Gaborone, SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, Ms Angele Makombo N’tumba, said the organisation empowered member states to collectively achieve goals that would be difficult to realise individually.

    Ms N’tumba said one of SADC’s objectives was to build a regional community where citizens were able to connect, collaborate and benefit from a shared vision of a better future. Since its establishment in 1980, she noted, SADC had developed robust policies and instruments that continued to deliver transformative outcomes across the region, enhancing trade, streamlining systems, facilitating mobility and uplifting communities.

    She emphasised that SADC’s regional instruments were powerful engines of transformation with tangible impact on citizens’ lives. She highlighted the SADC Mobile Money Guidelines, introduced in 2024, which are helping member states harmonise regulation and expand access to financial services. The initiative, she said, was especially transformative for women, youth and informal traders who have historically been excluded from formal banking.

    “By supporting mobile money, SADC is modernising finance and ensuring that opportunity reaches every corner of the region,” she said. However, Ms N’tumba cautioned that SADC’s achievements risked going unnoticed without effective communication. She said the new Communication, Awareness and Visibility Strategy for 2025–2030 was crafted to deepen public understanding of SADC’s origins, mandate and impact, ensuring its messages reach diverse audiences across member states.

    “This strategy embraces our region’s rich linguistic, cultural and social diversity, and ensures visibility of women, youth, persons with disabilities and marginalised communities,” she added.

    SADC partner and Head of Economic and Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Botswana, Ms Simone Goertz, said clear communication of goals, policies and achievements enables regional organisations to build trust, enhance transparency and strengthen engagement with citizens, stakeholders and international partners. She said communication acted as a bridge between institutional frameworks and the lived realities of the people they serve.

    “In a globalised world where narratives shape perceptions, strategic communication is vital to counter misinformation, promote inclusivity and reinforce regional solidarity,” she noted.