Southern African Research and Documentation Centre

29/10/2025

Voting is underway in Tanzania where voters will elect a president, parliament and councillors to serve for the next five years.

A total of 17 candidates, including the incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Chama Cha Mapinduzi, are contesting in the presidential poll.

28/10/2025

"Sanctions on Zimbabwe have evolved in form and target over the years, yet their effect has frequently destabilised Zimbabwe, and the SADC region at large.

SADC believes that the prosperity and livelihood of any civilisation can and should not be held at ransom by any such external forces, as has been the case with the sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, " - SADC Executive Secretary speaking on the SADC anti-sanctions day commemorations on 25 October

16/10/2025

14 October is marked as Nyerere Day in Tanzania and is a public holiday in remembrance of the life of Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere who passed away on this day in 1999.

Southern Africa celebrates Mwalimu Nyerere’s leadership and devotion to liberation and socio-economic development. The day encourages the region to carry forward his vision of peace, freedom, social cohesion, solidarity and development.

Mwalimu taught his firm principles of development, self-reliance and unity of the African continent. Mwalimu means “Teacher” in Kiswahili.

Nyerere had strong commitment that independent Tanganyika would fully support the liberation of African countries from colonialism and apartheid, and he did that. He believed that, without the freedom of the continent, his own country would not be free.

The founding president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere was one of the leaders of the nine countries that formed the SADCC on 1 April 1980 in Lusaka, Zambia. The core objective was political independence and economic development.

The leaders of Tanzania and Zambia, Julius Nyerere and Kenneth Kaunda facilitated the development of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) supported by China. The freedom railway facilitated trade between the two countries, and eventually, between Eastern and Southern Africa as a whole.

Mwalimu Nyerere described the TAZARA as a “weapon of freedom”.

SARDC’s information is based on the values of SARDC’s founding patron, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, that is, honesty, integrity, commitment, dedication, equality, hard work and unity.

14/10/2025

🚨 SADC to deploy the SADC Panel of Elders to Madagascar "on a fact-finding mission and to facilitate a conducive environment for dialogue to take root"

-this follows reports of an attempted coup & demonstrations in the country that have resulted in the death of protesters

14/10/2025

October 14 is a special day for the United Republic of Tanzania, set to commemorate the life and legacy of Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere. He was Baba wa taifa, father of the nation, the moving force for the independence of Tanganyika on 9 December 1961 and for its unity with Zanzibar on 26 April 1964 to create the United Republic of Tanzania

Southern Africa celebrates Mwalimu Nyerere’s leadership and devotion to liberation and socio-economic development. The day encourages the region to carry forward his vision of peace, freedom, social cohesion, solidarity and development.

Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere was the father of southern African liberation, and one of the founders of the Southern African Development Community.

Born in Butiama near Lake Victoria on 13 April 1922, when he passed away on 14 October 1999, Africans everywhere shared the sense of loss felt by Tanzanians.

Mwalimu Nyerere is remembered for his dedicated support for the liberation of Africa from colonial rule and apartheid. “He carried the torch that liberated Africa”.

Nyerere pursued the ideals of liberation, democracy and common humanity into the rest of the continent and, with the leaders of the other 31 African countries that were independent in 1963, established the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which later became the African Union.

08/10/2025

🚨The Southern African Research and Documentation Centre is participating at the 13th Pan-African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The conference is running under the theme "Honouring a Legacy, Building a Future."

marks a decade since the launch of the African Union's High-Level Panel (HLP) Report on IFFs from Africa, offering an opportunity to take stock of progress, reignite momentum and confront the enduring structural challenges that enable resource drain from the continent.

At the time the HLP Report was launched, it was estimated that the continent was losing up to US$50 billion annually through IFFs, resources that could be used to fund Africa's structural transformation.

Former South African President, chairs the HLP.

16/09/2025

Malawians are voting today to choose their president, parliamentary & local government representatives.

20 candidates, including the incumbent President, & two former presidents make up the list of those who are in contention to lead Malawi for the next 5 years.

12/09/2025

Download the publication for the 45th Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government held in Antananarivo, Madagascar on 17 August 2025, under the theme, "Advancing Industrialisation, Agricultural Transformation, and Energy Transition for a Resilient SADC.” https://wp.me/p4h5b0-2SI

02/09/2025

SADC climate experts are convening in Lusaka, Zambia until 11 September to produce the regional seasonal outlook, an essential tool that provides early guidance on the expected rainfall and temperature patterns for the region, allowing Member States to prepare in advance.

Timely use of this forecast supports decisions such as crop planning, water management, disaster risk reduction, energy production, and public health measures, thereby reducing vulnerabilities and potential losses.

26/08/2025

Heroes Day is a public holiday in Namibia which commemorates the start of the war of liberation on 26 August 1966 at Omugulugwombashe, bringing Independence 24 years later, supported by the people of Namibia, and the continent of Africa.

The first shots of the liberation war were fired on 26 August 1966 in the Omusati Region of northern Namibia, marking a strategic shift from reliance on the politics of protests and petitioning as the main form of anti-colonial struggle, although these continued in tandem.

25/08/2025

Read more about the roundtable here:

Fish production soars by 25% in 3 years

25/08/2025

Statement from the Executive Director of SARDC at the Donor Roundtable held on 21st August 2025