Kingdom of Lesotho High Commissioner’s visit to SACU Executive Secretary, 23rd October 2008, Windhoek, Namibia
1. The SACU Executive Secretary Ms Tswelopele Moremi welcomed the High Commissioner to Windhoek and to the Secretariat. She indicated that it was a privilege to have her visit the Secretariat particularly given that Lesotho is the current Chair of SACU.
2. The High Commissioner for the Kingdom of Lesotho; based in Pretoria, South Africa, Her Excellency (HE) Mrs. Khechane – Ntoane paid a courtesy visit to the SACU Executive Secretary (ES) Ms Tswelopele Moremi. The visit followed shortly after the High Commissioners official visit to the Government of Namibia. She was accompanied by the Counsellor for the Kingdom of Lesotho High Commission, Mr. Motanyane.
3. The High Commissioner indicated that as a Member of SACU, Lesotho has been closely following the events and initiatives related to SACU and also closely monitoring the implementation of the SACU work programme as SACU is an important institution to the Kingdom of Lesotho.
4. Her primary objective in visiting the SACU Secretariat was to get a deeper understanding of the status of the implementation of the SACU work programme in terms of it’s achievements and challenges and to establish how best the Lesotho High Commission can support the work of SACU through facilitating linkages between the Government of Lesotho and the Secretariat.
5. Her Excellency Mrs. Kechane –Ntoane indicated that she had recently attended the just ended COMESA, EAC and SADC tripartite meeting in Kampala Uganda. She expressed her concern at the SACU Secretariats non participation in the tripartite meeting. She further indicated that Lesotho; through their Minter of Finance and Development planning, the Honourable Timothy Tahane; had registered a concern at the SADC Ministerial meeting held in Kampala Uganda about the SACU Secretariats non participation. The SADC Secretariat undertook to follow up on the issue with the view to addressing the concern.
6. The High Commissioner indicated that there is a lot of value that SACU could add to SADC initiatives particularly the planned SADC Customs Union given SACU’s long existence and experience as a Customs Union.
7. The ES briefed the High Commissioner on the current developments in the implementation of SACUs new dispensation as contained in the 2002 Agreement, and the recently ended SACU Council of Ministers Retreat which mapped the way forward for SACU.
8. With regards to the 2002 SACU Agreement the ES indicated that it is a radical departure from the 1969 Agreement. It caters for deeper integration where common policies are established, and joint trade negotiations with third parties are undertaken. The 2002 Agreement is rules based and provides for joint decision making as evidenced by the establishment of the Secretariat and in future a Tariff Board and a Tribunal.
9. The ES indicated that since entry into force of the 2002 Agreement there have been major developments at the regional level which necessitated introspection by SACU. It is on this basis that a SACU Council of Ministers retreat was held from the 29 August to the 01 September 2008 in Kasane, Botswana.
10. Following the retreat Council will meet to adopt formal decisions on the way forward.
11. In conclusion the High Commissioner and the SACU Executive Secretary agreed to hold regular briefing meetings with regards to the SACU Agenda and its work programme.