Johannesburg, 03 January, 2022 / 10:30 pm (ACI Africa).
Catholic Church leaders within the Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) have petitioned the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for the privilege to participate in the regional entity’s activities.
The Catholic Bishops representing Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa, and Zimbabwe say a SADC-IMBISA collaboration will lead to the success of multiple initiatives.
SADC is an intergovernmental organization made up of sixteen member States: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
“We are requesting for an Observer Status, which will allow the Catholic Church to participate in SADC activities,” IMBISA Secretary General, Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu of Zimbabwe’s Harare Archdiocese, said Wednesday, November 17 at a meeting with SADC Executive Secretary, Elias Magosi.
While observer status has limited ability to participate in an organization’s day-to-day functioning as well as the ability to vote or propose resolutions, Archbishop Ndlovu said granting their request will allow IMBISA to “meaningfully contribute to policies and activities of common interest.”