Question NW1808 to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation

Reply:

a) His Excellency, Mr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, the President of the Republic of Botswana, in his capacity as a chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation invited SADC Troika Ministers to travel to Eswatini on 11 July 2021 to meet with the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini and political leaderships as well as civil society and academia with a view to support the people of Eswatini towards finding a durable solution to their political challenges.

The SADC Troika Ministers was led by Botswana’s Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, Dr Lemogang Kwape, in his capacity as a chair of the Ministerial segment of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and included the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Dr Naledi Pandor, as incoming chair of SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Mr Frederick Shava.

As part of these developments, SADC Troika Ministers spent two days in Eswatini, which was agreed to be insufficient for the Troika to interface extensively with the people of the Kingdom of Eswatini. In this regard, a SADC sent a Fact Finding Technical Team to Eswatini from 15 to 22 July 2021 and again South Africa participated.

b) Following their visit to Eswatini, the Fact Finding Technical Team submitted a comprehensive report with recommendations to the Chair of Troika. The report has been forwarded to the Government of Eswatini for their consideration.