A geologist by profession, engineer Joao Samuel Caholo is a former Deputy Minister in the Angolan Government. The Angolanl-born Secretary was appointed into the SADC Secretariat as Deputy Executive Secretary in charge of Regional Integration at the SADC Silver Jubilee Summit, held in Botswana in August 2005.
He has also served with the SADC Energy Sector in Luanda, and has been acting Director of the SADC Directorate of Infrastructure and Services since 2002.
Eng. Caholo's professional experience with SADC began in the 1980s when he was the focal point for the SADC mining sector in Angola and then desk officer for the Angola committee for SADC in the Ministry of External Relations.
Between 1986 and 1992, he worked for the SADC Energy Sector Coordinating Unit where, among other things, he represented the region in a World Bank study on the distribution of petroleum products in sub-Saharan Africa.
He was also involved in the development of a regional vision for joint energy resource management, trade and venture capital investments.
Eng. Caholo served as Deputy Minister of Fisheries from 1992- 99, before being appointed as Co-ordinator of the SADC Energy Sector, a post he held for one year. He was Director of the SADC Energy Commission 2001-02.