Madagascar's president, Andry Rajoelina, will be the next chairperson of the Southern African Development Committee (SADC) regional bloc after the end of president Emmerson Mnangagwa's tenure.
Mnangagwa took over the SADC leadership role on 17 August 2024 during the 44th SADC Summit of Heads of States and Government that was held in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Rajoelina made headlines during the Covid-19 pandemic for coming up with a healing tonic made from herbs in Madagascar, called Covid-organics.
From then on, he pushed for it to be adopted and used as a cure across the world before a vaccine was discovered.
It did very little to stop Covid-19 infections on his little island nation as cases quadrupled by August of 2020.
"The epidemic won't last. It's only passing through, and we will defeat it," he is on record as saying.
The Malagasy-French politician and businessman has ruled the island nation since 2019, after he had also served as leader of the provisional government from 2009 to 2014.
This was after Madagascar was hit by a military-backed coup.
His SADC chairmanship will come at a time when the region is contending with the Donald Trump administration, drought, climate change, and destabilising wars.
The SADC chairperson oversees the highest level of SADC governance structures, and has the overall mandate of providing policy direction and controlling the functions of SADC
The SADC chairperson also interacts with the SADC secretariat staff, provides guidance, and signs SADC legal instruments du
ring their tenure.
