Peace and Security remain one of the indispensable ingredients for sustainable socio-economic development of the region, and in this regard, a credible conflict resolution mechanism in the form of an effective and professional SADC Standby Force is a “quid pro quo” for SADC’s prosperity.
Professor Kula Ishmael Theletsane, Director, Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs at SADC Secretariat said this during the official opening of SADC Standby Force Communication Exercise (SF COMMEX) at Oodi village, Botswana on the 26th July 2023.
SADC SF COMMEX was sanctioned by the 29th Ordinary Defence Sub-Committee meeting, which was held in Lusaka, Zambia, in 2019, to promote communication capability under the theme “Enhancing Communication Interoperability in SADC Missions”. The exercise code-named Exercise “Dipuisano” is been conducted by the SADC Standby Force from 24th July to 5th August 2023 in Botswana, in particular, in the areas of Gaborone, Kanye, Lobatse and Oodi.
Professor Theletsane underscored that the successful conduct of Exercise Dipuisano will subsequently heightened conflict resolution capability status for the SADC Region and the entire African continent. “This invariably speaks to the partial fulfilment of Aspiration 4, of the African Union Agenda 2063 –that aspires for a “Peaceful and Secure Africa”, he said.
He further thanked the Republic of Botswana for hosting the exercise and commended SADC Member States for their continued commitment to SADC operations and missions.
The Exercise Director, Brigadier Joseph Moenyane Mathambo from Botswana Defence (BDF) Force highlighted that the exercise presented an opportunity for the Military personnel, Police, Correctional Services and Civilian Component to engage many officers into the planning process, thereby expanding their knowledge through skills transfer as well as exercising their different experiences to collectively achieve their objectives.
For his part, Brigadier Oreeditse Sheriff Tsamaase , Acting Director of Financial Resources Management at the BDF, in his welcome remarks on behalf of the Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, noted that the rationale for planning and executing military exercises is to prepare commands and forces for operations in peace, crises, and conflicts. Therefore, Exercises such as COMMEX ensure that forces across the Alliance can work together effectively whenever needed. Brigadier Tsamaase acknowledged that, through exercises such as SF COMMEX, SADC Allied forces and Partner nations and organizations can come together to train, exercise, and learn from one another.
He stated that the preparedness of the SADC Standby Force would allow it to effectively assume the continental Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC) role for peace support operations as envisioned by the declaration of the 9th African Union Special Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security on 4th June 2016.
The exercise is attended by participants from 10 SADC Member States, namely; Republic of Angola, Republic of Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kingdom of Lesotho, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Namibia, Republic of South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Zambia and Republic of Zimbabwe.
