JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has appointed special envoys to Eswatini, following burning of shops, blockades of roads and violent protests that forced schools to close indefinitely in the kingdom.
The appointment was made by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as head of the SADC, the South African Presidency said in a statement on Thursday.
The five envoys are former South African energy minister Jeffrey Radebe, South African deputy foreign minister Candith Mashego-Dlamini, representatives of Botswana and Namibia, and Ramaphosa's international relations special advisor Maropene Ramokgopa.
They are expected to travel to Eswatini this week and engage with Eswatini King Mswati III about security and political developments in the kingdom, the statement said.
The envoys will be accompanied by SADC executive secretary Elias Magosi, senior officials of the SADC Secretariat and senior officials of the South African government, according to the statement.
Eswatini Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini on Saturday said the government remains open to engagements with all stakeholders to finding lasting solutions to the situation, but this has to be done in a peaceful manner.
The SADC has 16 member states: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Enditem
