The Southern African Development Community (SADC) broke ground in December 2024 on a military logistics hub in Botswana to ensure rapid deployment of troops to regional crises, such as the one in northern Mozambique.
Workers are building the SADC Standby Force Regional Logistics Depot on 19 hectares in Rasesa, 40 kilometers north of the capital, Gaborone. The SADC has seen the emergence of trouble spots, notably in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique.
“This groundbreaking ceremony is timely and marks a significant stride in our journey towards promoting and consolidating peace, stability and security in our region,” said SADC Chairperson and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa said the center will ensure that the region can deploy troops quickly. He called on international partners to contribute to the center’s $45 million cost.
Botswana President Duma Boko said the military hub will give the SADC the capacity to intervene and distribute military equipment in strife-torn regions. “[People] are in distress, and they are looking for help, and we in SADC have taken it upon ourselves when these calls of distress are raised to step in, to step up and come to the rescue,” Boko said.
Zimbabwe-based political analyst Effie Dlela Ncube said that although it is critical to have the armory, regional leaders first must address the root cause of conflict.
“We need to go beyond that [deploying troops] and deal with the political, socioeconomic, legal and other structural root causes of conflict in the region,” Ncube said.