Botswana’s President, Duma Boko, on Wednesday March 26 signed an agreement amending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Treaty to establish the SADC Parliament as one of the organization’s key institutions.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, President Boko described the decision as a “political move” and called on SADC member States to harmonize their laws to tackle regional challenges effectively.
The amendment will transform the SADC Parliamentary Forum, which was established in 1997, into a fully functional regional parliament with greater legislative authority. However, for the change to take effect, the agreement must be ratified by the majority, if not all, SADC member states. Dithapelo Keorapetse, the Speaker of Botswana’s National Assembly, praised the role of the Forum in promoting good governance and regional integration across the southern African bloc.
The SADC is a 16-member regional bloc, comprising Angola, Botswana, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The creation of a regional parliament marks a significant step in strengthening the bloc’s institutional framework.