By Pemphero Malimba:
State Vice-President Jane Ansah has urged members of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation (Troika) to treat the political and security situation in Madagascar with urgency.
She said swift action was key to restoring peace, law and order in the country.
Ansah made the call when she presided over an extraordinary Troika summit held virtually on behalf of President Peter Mutharika, who is the current chairperson for the Sadc organ.
The meeting was convened to deliberate on the unfolding political situation in Madagascar.
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The summit focused on the issue of consideration, and adoption, of a report that was submitted by a joint technical fact-finding mission that was deployed to Madagascar in October this year.
During the meeting, the organ adopted the report, which outlines key findings and recommendations aimed at ending the violence and stabilising the country.
Addressing the meeting, Ansah said urgency in addressing the matter would help restore peace, security and the rule of law in Madagascar.
She stressed the need for Troika members to carefully consider the report’s findings and recommendations and to provide clear guidance on the way forward. “We need to consider the findings and the recommendations of the report and provide guidance accordingly. It should be noted that we are required to submit our recommendations to the summit at the earliest opportunity.
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“Let us, therefore, approach this assignment with a sense of urgency so that peace, security and law and order can be fully restored in the Republic of Madagascar,” Ansah said.
The Vice President underscored the importance of remaining focused on the implementation of the recommendations made by the joint technical fact-finding mission, noting that multiple stakeholders were involved in the process.
“There are obviously many stakeholders involved and yet to be involved, hence the urgency of Sadc, as a community forum [and] of which the Republic of Madagascar is a member, not only to take concrete actions but also to be seen by the Malagasy people that we identify with the situation and are working towards resolving it,” Ansah said. She added that Malawi was counting on the collective support and wisdom of Troika and other regional stakeholders to help resolve the situation in Madagascar.
Ansah said Mutharika would be expecting updates on progress made in implementing agreed actions from both the chairperson for the ministerial committee of the Organ Troika and the Sadc Executive Secretary.
Earlier, Sadc Executive Secretary Elias Mpedi Magosi commended Mutharika for the timely deployment of a fact-finding mission to Madagascar.
He also praised the mission team for completing and submitting its report within a short time.
“I wish to thank President Peter Mutharika for the deployment of the mission. I would like to also thank the dedicated team for delivering a report in a short period of time,” Magosi said.
Magosi expressed hope that the outcomes of the extraordinary summit would help guide the region’s next steps in responding to the political crisis in Madagascar.
He called on Sadc to safeguard peace and stability in the region.
Madagascar has experienced political unrest and violence since September this year following the arrest of two politicians who had planned demonstrations in the capital, Antananarivo, over power and water shortages.
The situation later escalated, leading to the ousting of President Andry Rajoelina through a coup.
The Sadc Organ Troika is responsible for promoting peace and security in the region and is mandated to provide strategic direction on matters that threaten regional stability.
Troika operates at summit level and consists of a chairperson, incoming chairperson and outgoing chairperson, reporting to the Sadc Summit chairperson.
Malawi is the current chairperson, with Tanzania as the outgoing chair and eSwatini as the incoming chair.
