Luanda - The President of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, confirmed Thursday in Luanda that his country will join the treaty for the creation of the future Parliament of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the coming days.
In a private meeting with the National Assembly Speaker, Carolina Cerqueira, the statesman said his country will be the 13th member to join the legislative institution.
Andry Rajoelina said Madagascar will ratify the legal instrument for the creation of the regional parliament at the Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in August in Harare (Zimbabwe).
The statesman added that his country’s parliament Speaker will be working with his Angolan counterpart and the Secretariat of the SADC Parliamentary Forum on all the necessary procedures.
Early in July, as a result of Angolan lobbying for the conclusion of the process, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed the document, following the 55th Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum held in Luanda.
In order to enter into force, the agreement to transform the SADC-PF into a regional parliament requires a minimum of 12 signatures.
It is a consultative parliament, as a geopolitical bloc, within the framework of regional consultation, whose aim is to take on board the concerns of the people and, above all, with the contribution of the parliaments, pass model laws, strengthening the democratic process and the preservation of the democratic rule of law in the countries of the region.
Established in September 1997, the Windhoek-based SADC-PF provides a platform for dialogue between the parliaments of the 16 SADC member states on issues of regional interest and concern.
The region has more than 3,500 parliamentarians from Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Comoros, DRC, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. VIC/DAN/AMP
