Kuzeeko Tjitemisa
Namibia has extended its appreciation to SADC member states that contributed troops and personnel to the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) and for the cooperation extended to the mission by the government of Mozambique.
Chairperson of the regional bloc’s peace and security council for the month of November, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, said this during a virtual meeting of the AU-PSC yesterday.
An Islamist organisation known locally al-Shabab - not the Somalian group of the same name - launched its first major insurgency in the town of Mocimboa da Praia, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado in October 2017.
The armed conflict affects thousands of families in Mozambique. Some 950 000 people had been internally displaced by the end of June 2022, according to the United Nations Agency for Migration (IOM).
Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is Namibia’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, said since its deployment, SAMIM, working along with Mozambique’s army, contributed significantly to facilitating the liberation of territories in the hands of the terrorist group and the degrading of the threat posed by the group.
She also salutes the African Union (AU) for facilitating financial support and offering equipment for SAMIM from the Continental Logistics Depot and that being rerouted from China to SAMIM.
“Our gratitude also goes to countries that provided airlift capabilities, including Angola and Zambia, for moving the equipment in the Continental Logistics Depot (CLD) in Douala, Cameroon to Mozambique for use by SAMIM,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah who is also the deputy prime minister.
She said given the continuing threat of the terrorist group in Cabo Delgado and the scale of the crisis it has caused; it is SADC’s conviction that there is a need to strengthen SAMIM’s capabilities.
“Of particular importance in this regard is the need to address the financial and logistical shortfalls, which can undermine the effective execution by SAMIM of its mandate,” she added.
“This is not the time to allow these gaps, which could threaten and reverse the gains made thus far. Enhancing the capabilities and military posture of SAMIM is critical not only to consolidate the gains achieved thus far but also to free the rest of Cabo Delgado from the threat posed by this terrorist group.”
She said she is mindful that there is ample experience from across the continent from Somalia to the Sahel region to appreciate the combination of measures that are critical to defeat terrorism and violent radicalism.
“I would like to note that the possession by SAMIM of the required military/security capabilities would not be enough to get the job done,” she said, adding that the use of these capabilities is predicated on and in pursuit of promotion of the overall political strategy for the stabilisation of the Cabo Delgado region.
She said as such, beyond sustaining and expanding the military pressure on the terror group, Ahl al-Sunnah wa al Jamma’ah (ASWJ), SAMIM, working in collaboration with Mozambique and the AU, should also support the implementation of the socio-economic, governance and community stabilisation measures.
Therefore, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the regional block welcome steps being taken by Mozambique for implementing, with support from SAMIM and AU, comprehensive stabilisation and peace-building measures in Cabo Delgado that are aimed at both addressing the governance gaps and the socio-economic deficits and rebuilding effective and legitimate regional and local administration structures for delivery of much needed social services and rehabilitation of the human, social and economic infrastructure of the region.
In Palma and Mocimboa da Praia Districts where Rwandan security forces operate, more than 130 000 internally displaced persons have reportedly returned to their villages and homes.
ktjitemisa@nepc.com.na