Latest news with #Sadc
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
SA's Swazi Tshabalala loses out on AfDB presidency to Mauritanian Sidi Ould Tah
His win means the presidency of the bank will again stay between West and North Africa. Southern Africa had fielded two candidates, Tshabalala and Zambian economist Samuel Maimbo. This caused a rift within the regional body Sadc, which publicly endorsed the Zambian, but SA refused to back down. Tah previously served as director-general for the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa. He also served as an expert at the Mauritanian Bank for Development and Commerce between 1984 and 1986, then as a financial analyst at the Food Security Commission in 1986. He also worked as a financial analyst at the Khartoum-based Arab Authority for Agriculture, Investment and Development between 1996 and 1999. Thereafter, he served as investment promotion officer and then technical assistant to the president of the Islamic Development Bank. He was the adviser to Mauritania's president and prime minister, respectively, in 2006 and 2008. In 2008, he was nominated and appointed as Mauritanian minister of economy and finance. Tshabalala joined AfDB in 2018 after she was appointed as vice president of finance and CFO. She previously served as a finance manager at Standard Bank Group and as group treasurer at Transnet. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana previously commended Tshabalala for her contribution and commitment to achieving the AfDB's vital goal of increasing investment in the continent.
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
SA's Tshabalala loses AfDB presidency to Mauritanian
His win means the presidency of the bank will again stay between West and North Africa. Southern Africa had fielded two candidates, Tshabalala and Zambian economist Samuel Maimbo. This caused a rift within the regional body Sadc, which publicly endorsed the Zambian, but SA refused to back down. Tah previously served as director-general for the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa. He also served as an expert at the Mauritanian Bank for Development and Commerce between 1984 and 1986, then as a financial analyst at the Food Security Commission in 1986. He also worked as a financial analyst at the Khartoum-based Arab Authority for Agriculture, Investment and Development between 1996 and 1999. Thereafter, he served as investment promotion officer and then technical assistant to the president of the Islamic Development Bank. He was the adviser to Mauritania's president and prime minister, respectively, in 2006 and 2008. In 2008, he was nominated and appointed as Mauritanian minister of economy and finance. Tshabalala joined AfDB in 2018 after she was appointed as vice president of finance and CFO. She previously served as a finance manager at Standard Bank Group and as group treasurer at Transnet. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana previously commended Tshabalala for her contribution and commitment to achieving the AfDB's vital goal of increasing investment in the continent.
TimesLIVE
15-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Sandu urges unhappy soldiers to take legal route to address pay dispute
The South African National Defence Union (Sandu) has expressed concern that some SANDF members who were deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are threatening unlawful action to protest about allowances payable to them. The union said it had received several complaints from the South African National Defence Force members who were part of the Sadc mission. It said the SANDF had acknowledged the complaints and undertaken to investigate disparities in payments. 'It is with concern that Sandu has noted certain individuals deployed in the DRC threatening on social media unlawful actions to protest the issue.' The union acknowledged the concerns of the soldiers and assured all involved that the necessary legal means were available to address any payment concerns they might have. 'Under no circumstances will Sandu support any unlawful action to protest/raise payment concerns.' Sandu urged its members to register their concerns on the union channel (legal@ in order for the union to have facts to act upon in a legal and orderly way. Meanwhile, the DA says it has written to defence minister Angie Motshekga, requesting a detailed breakdown of the Sadc-funded allowances for troops, including how the payments are structured and where the remaining funds are being held. The political party said it was concerning that soldiers deployed to the DRC were reportedly receiving only R34,000 a month, despite Sadc allocating R108,000 per soldier. 'This discrepancy raises serious questions about transparency and accountability. The South African government separately budgeted R5bn for the mission — funds meant to cover operational costs, including troop allowances,' the DA said.
TimesLIVE
04-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
'Troop withdrawal from DRC to pave way for continued peace efforts and mediation processes': SANDF
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) says the withdrawal of troops deployed as part of the Sadc Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo does not signal an abandonment of the people, but is a technical move intended to pave the way for continued peace efforts and mediation processes. On Sunday, defence minister Angie Motshekga shared developments of the withdrawal, confirming that SANDF troops, deployed alongside partner forces from Tanzania and Malawi, have begun withdrawing from the mission area. She said this follows a series of extensive regional diplomatic engagements, high-level consultations with key stakeholders and notable progress in the ongoing peace efforts in the eastern DRC. 'The withdrawal of SANDF troops from the eastern DRC marks a new chapter in our regional peacekeeping efforts. This reflects confidence in the DRC's quest to manage its internal security challenges with reduced external military presence, supported by ongoing diplomatic and development partnerships,' she said. Chief of the SANDF Gen Rudzani Maphwanya said the withdrawal was being done systematically in a phased manner. 'We are withdrawing with the pride that there is an element of peace because M23 committed that there will be an element of peace. And therefore our withdrawal must be seen in the context that the political effort to have peace and stability in the DRC is now on the horizon,' he said. Maphwanya said the decision to withdraw troops followed a meeting between the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and East African Community (EAC), where regional chiefs of defence forces agreed on a co-ordinated blueprint to address the conflict in the eastern DRC. According to Maphwanya, the agreement acknowledged that the cessation of hostilities and a ceasefire had created a foundation for mediation to take precedence. 'We cannot shoot our way to peace. We therefore indicated that we will support the effort by our political leadership,' he said. He said the leadership of the M23 rebel group had committed to observing the ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. To secure this commitment, chiefs of defence forces from the contributing countries — South Africa, Malawi, and Tanzania — along with the Sadc Organ's director — had travelled to Goma to meet the M23 leadership. 'This withdrawal is not accidental and withdrawal is not a sign of weakness. It's a position of the political effort to say that there is peace and stability in the eastern DRC, and therefore we are withdrawing with that pride to say there is an element of peace because M23 committed to the cessation of hostilities. DRC had to also sign an undertaking with M23.' Maphwanya said the troops are going to the assembly area identified in Tanzania and will have to pass through Rwanda 'It had been negotiated and discussed by Sadc leadership that it is a thoroughfare to our assembly area and from the assembly area, which is in Tanzania, all the forces will go to their respective countries in one way or another.' He said equipment would be transported by sea to South Africa while personnel would travel by air. The withdrawal started on April 29 with 13 trucks. The second batch would follow and the withdrawal would be concluded by the end of May, he said. Maphwanya said the cost of the withdrawal would not fall solely on South Africa, as the process was being co-ordinated by the Sadc. He said the regional body has established a dedicated budget for the withdrawal, funded by contributions from all Sadc member states.
TimesLIVE
29-04-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Rwanda escorts Sadc troops from DRC to Tanzania, says army spokesperson
Rwanda's army is escorting the troops of a Southern African force through Rwandan territory to Tanzania as they pull out from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a spokesperson for the Rwandan army said on Tuesday. The Southern African Development Community (Sadc), which groups 16 states, said in mid-March it had terminated the mandate of its mission and would begin a phased withdrawal of its force, known as SAMIDRC, from DRC. The force was sent to assist Kinshasa's fight against rebel groups in DRC's eastern borderlands in December 2023. Many of its troops sought shelter in United Nations peacekeeping bases after Goma, eastern DRC's largest city, fell to Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in February.
