George Sanzila

GENEVA – National Assembly Speaker Peter Katjavivi was honoured yesterday by the SADC Group of Parliaments ahead of the start of the 149th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly and Related meetings in Geneva, Switzerland.

President of the Southern African Development Community – Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF), Roger Mancienne, presented Katjavivi with a Certificate of Distinction to honour him for his outstanding service to both the SADC-PF and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). He described Katjavivi as a dedicated proponent of regional integration and the transformation of the SADC-PF into a regional parliament. 

In his valedictory remarks, Katjavivi thanked the SADC-PF, urging members of parliament to continue contributing to the forum to impact the lives of ordinary citizens. “It has been an interesting and very educative journey of close to 10 years as part of this dynamic organisation, the SADC-PF. We will meet in Livingstone, Zambia, where I will formally bid farewell to you all. It has been a privilege to learn from each other and to contribute to our collective efforts. Let’s always remember the impact of our efforts on the lives of the people we serve,” noted the Speaker.

The current IPU Assembly will be his last in his capacity as Speaker. He is a long-serving Speaker of the National Assembly and SADC-PF’s Executive Committee. He has played a pivotal role in the SADC-PF, being the host Speaker, and has continued to make contributions aimed at transforming the SADC-PF into a regional parliament. Professor Katjavivi is also the vice president of the IPU task force on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He will be retiring in March
2025.

*George Sanzila works for the National Assembly in the Division: Research, Information, Publications and Editorial Services.