The government of Botswana has pledged a piece of land to host the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Logistics Depot. The depot will be used to store material, equipment and end-user stocks, to be used in Peace Keeping Operations and Humanitarian Relief Efforts by the SADC Standby Force.
It is reported that the agreement to have such a depot was reached in August 2004 by SADC Heads of States at the SADC Summit.
The depot is expected to guarantee a rapid deployment capability of the SADC Standby Force which will facilitate SADC to act promptly to save lives and prevent crises from escalating. The need to implement a depot resolution was promted by the recent deployment of SADC forces in Mozambique, which has demonstrated that the region need this Depot to be functional as soon as it possibly can.
The deployment to quell the unrest in the Cabo Del Gado region exposed some mobilisation challenges which can be best addressed by a fully functional logistics depot to support a quick reaction.
Speaking earlier today during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the government of Botswana and SADC Secretariat, The Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Honourable Kagiso Mmusi says the land for the depot has been located near Rasesa village.
“I am equally delighted by the spirit of cooperation demonstrated during consultations with the local communities prior to identification and allocation of the said land to the SADC Secretariat. I therefore take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to Batswana for the sacrifice they continue to make in support of regional peace efforts. The signing of this Agreement signifies my Governmentβs firm commitment to ensuring that SADC possesses the capability to maintain peace and security within the region. As a host to the Depot, we pledge to meet all the obligations put on us by this Agreement and we will give all the support we can towards the development of this facility to ensure that it is operationalised.”said Minister Mmusi.
Mmusi further urged SADC member states to commit to the building of the depot as they ask for help from the international community.
