News / Local
Chinamasa lands top Sadc role
03 Mar 2022 at 05:38hrs | Views
Zanu-PF Secretary for Finance and Economic Development and former Cabinet Minister Patrick Chinamasa and diplomat Ambassador Dr Andrew Hama Mtetwa have been appointed to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Panel of Elders (PoE) and the Mediation Reference Group (MRG), respectively.
Chinamasa and Ambassador Mtetwa have already started work after getting appointment letters from the Sadc in Botswana last week.
In January this year, the two were appointed to the SADC PoE and MRG, a demonstration of confidence in the country by regional leaders.
The structure is aimed at strengthening SADC's mediation capacities and timeously pre-empting violent conflict.
Chinamasa will be joining four other eminent personalities that include former Heads of State and Government and former Government Ministers from other SADC countries on the SADC Panel of Elders. His appointment is for a four-year term until August 2025.
Chinamasa has an illustrious career in Government since independence in 1980, where he rose to become the country's Attorney-General, before being appointed Cabinet minister, holding the portfolios of Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Finance and Economic Development.
Dr Mtetwa is a senior lecturer at the Zimbabwe National Defence University, and former Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Belgium, Ethiopia, South Africa and Zambia.
Outgoing chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation Botswana President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi presented letters of appointment to the members of the SADC PoE and the MRG and urged the region to use their expertise.
The SADC PoE and MRG received their appointment letters after attending an induction meeting organised by the SADC Secretariat.
The appointments of the SADC PoE and MRG for a four-year term, were made following approval by the 41st Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government held in Lilongwe, Malawi in August 2021.
President Masisi urged key policy and decision-making structures in the SADC region to make use of the expertise of the SADC PoE and MRG.
The two structures comprise of eminent personalities that include former Heads of State and Government and former Government Ministers from other SADC countries who were appointed for their reputable and demonstrable political and technical expertise in conflict resolution, preventative diplomacy and mediation.
The SADC PoE and MRG are part of the SADC Mediation and Conflict Prevention and Preventative Diplomacy structure that was established by the SADC Heads of State and Government in August 2004, to foster political and security stability in the region through the prevention and resolution of significant inter-state and intra-state conflicts.
Some of the SADC PoE figures who received appointment letters are former Tanzanian President Dr Jakaya Kikwete, former vice president of Mauritius Mr Paramasivum Pillay Vyapoory and former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Botswana, Charles Tibone.
Among the SADC MRG who received appointment letters are Ambassador Molosiwa Selepeng (Botswana), Ambassador Lucy Mungoma, Zambia and Ms Hellen Lwegasira, a mediation and negotiation expert (Tanzania).
Dr Kikwete and Mr Vyapoory were appointed as chairperson and deputy chairperson of the PoE respectively, while Ambassador Mungoma and Ms Lwegasila were elected as chairperson and deputy chairperson for the MRG respectively.
The MRG will serve as a technical advisory arm of the PoE, in fostering greater political involvement in issues that threaten to undermine peace in the sub-region.
Dr Mtetwa is a senior lecturer at the Zimbabwe National Defence University, and former Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Belgium, Ethiopia, South Africa and Zambia.
Ambassador Mtetwa is a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been a career diplomat.
Their appointments are testimony to Zimbabwe's ability to produce distinguished regional leaders.
Chinamasa and Ambassador Mtetwa have already started work after getting appointment letters from the Sadc in Botswana last week.
In January this year, the two were appointed to the SADC PoE and MRG, a demonstration of confidence in the country by regional leaders.
The structure is aimed at strengthening SADC's mediation capacities and timeously pre-empting violent conflict.
Chinamasa will be joining four other eminent personalities that include former Heads of State and Government and former Government Ministers from other SADC countries on the SADC Panel of Elders. His appointment is for a four-year term until August 2025.
Chinamasa has an illustrious career in Government since independence in 1980, where he rose to become the country's Attorney-General, before being appointed Cabinet minister, holding the portfolios of Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Finance and Economic Development.
Dr Mtetwa is a senior lecturer at the Zimbabwe National Defence University, and former Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Belgium, Ethiopia, South Africa and Zambia.
Outgoing chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation Botswana President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi presented letters of appointment to the members of the SADC PoE and the MRG and urged the region to use their expertise.
The SADC PoE and MRG received their appointment letters after attending an induction meeting organised by the SADC Secretariat.
The appointments of the SADC PoE and MRG for a four-year term, were made following approval by the 41st Ordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government held in Lilongwe, Malawi in August 2021.
The two structures comprise of eminent personalities that include former Heads of State and Government and former Government Ministers from other SADC countries who were appointed for their reputable and demonstrable political and technical expertise in conflict resolution, preventative diplomacy and mediation.
The SADC PoE and MRG are part of the SADC Mediation and Conflict Prevention and Preventative Diplomacy structure that was established by the SADC Heads of State and Government in August 2004, to foster political and security stability in the region through the prevention and resolution of significant inter-state and intra-state conflicts.
Some of the SADC PoE figures who received appointment letters are former Tanzanian President Dr Jakaya Kikwete, former vice president of Mauritius Mr Paramasivum Pillay Vyapoory and former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Botswana, Charles Tibone.
Among the SADC MRG who received appointment letters are Ambassador Molosiwa Selepeng (Botswana), Ambassador Lucy Mungoma, Zambia and Ms Hellen Lwegasira, a mediation and negotiation expert (Tanzania).
Dr Kikwete and Mr Vyapoory were appointed as chairperson and deputy chairperson of the PoE respectively, while Ambassador Mungoma and Ms Lwegasila were elected as chairperson and deputy chairperson for the MRG respectively.
The MRG will serve as a technical advisory arm of the PoE, in fostering greater political involvement in issues that threaten to undermine peace in the sub-region.
Dr Mtetwa is a senior lecturer at the Zimbabwe National Defence University, and former Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Belgium, Ethiopia, South Africa and Zambia.
Ambassador Mtetwa is a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been a career diplomat.
Their appointments are testimony to Zimbabwe's ability to produce distinguished regional leaders.
Source - The Herald
