The Southern African Development Community (SADC) celebrates the silver jubilee anniversary of the organization on 1st April, 2005 the date which its precursor, the Southern Africa Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) was formed 25 years ago.

The vision of SADC is to create "a common future, a future within a regional Community" that will ensure the economic well-being and improvement of the standards of living and quality of life, freedom and social justice and peace and security for the peoples of Southern Africa. Member States of SADC are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The organization has seen its membership grow from nine (9) in 1980 to fourteen (14) in 1997 but its current membership is thirteen (13) following the withdrawal of Seychelles from the organization last year. Today SADC boasts of an attractive regional market of over 200 million people and a gross domestic product of over US$185 billion.

SADC has made impressive achievements particularly in transport and communications sector where the building and rehabilitation of road links, railways, airports, ports, harbours have occurred in many Member States.

Notable achievements have also been made in the sectors of trade and industry where intra-SADC trade grew from about 5 percent in 1980 to around 25 percent currently.

The challenges of rampant poverty, HIV and AIDS, food insecurity among others are being addressed through the organisation’s 15 year Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan designed to implement only programmes and activities that will accelerate regional integration and co-operation through sustainable development.

31 March 2005