The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has approved a budget of $12 million for the deployment of the Standby Force to Mozambique, which will help the country in its fight against insurgents in Cabo Delgado.
The figure was revealed in Luanda by the Angolan Foreign Minister who participated in the virtual meeting of the SADC heads of diplomacy.
“The budget is US$12 million in total, and is sub-divided into headings, sources of funding,” Tete António said, adding that the money would come from a contingency fund and contributions from member states, which would also contribute US$7 million.
Given the situation in Cabo Delgado, which António said was “a matter of survival of the region,” the SADC determined that contributions should be made by 9 July.
The Angolan head of diplomacy reiterated that he and his colleagues, as well as the entire SADC, have “that awareness that the region is under threat, with the crisis in Mozambique and we all have to respond promptly to this threat that we know in southern Africa.
In the coming days, technical commissions are due to meet to flesh out the final proposal for intervention.
The decision to send the force was taken at the summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government held on 23 March in Maputo.
The intervention aims to help the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces to combat insurgents who since October 2017 have caused over 2,000 deaths and over 700,000 displaced people with their actions against villages and towns in Cabo Delgado province.
