SADC Defence Sub Committee meets

By: Cpl Ally Rakoma
Photos: Sgt Elias Mahuma
Posted 26 July 2012

On 26 July 2012, Gen Solly Shoke, the Chief of the SANDF, hosted the SADC Extraordinary Meeting of the Defence Sub Committee which was attended by the SADC Chiefs of Defence Forces at the South African Defence Intelligence College (SADIC) in Pretoria.

The gathering offered a platform for deeper reflection on peace, security and stability in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and the continent. The SADC Chiefs of Defence Forces are fully behind the determined efforts that Africa and the SADC region have been making to deal with the scourge of conflict on the continent.

Key issues discussed at the meeting were the outcomes of the Extraordinary Defence Sub Committee (DSC) on 20 December 2011 in Pretoria and the DSC meeting in Mpumalanga in June 2012, funding and its influence on the African Standby Force (ASF), regional logistical depots and continental logistical base, the proposed Peace Support Operations Strategic Management Structure, security sector reform and the plan to conduct Exercise AMANI AFRICA II, with a view to exercising the Continental Rapid Deployment Capability (CRDC).

In conclusion, Gen Solly Shoke, who was the chairperson of the meeting, said that as the region they needed to work as a collective towards a common goal. “What remains critically important is how we are collectively going to realise the goals we have set for ourselves. We require a lot of courage, hard work and support for one another”, he said.