Deputy Speaker, let me say from the outset that South Africa acceded to the treaty of the Southern African Development Community Tribunal. We think it is a very useful institution.
However, SADC has realised that there are challenges in running the SADC Tribunal. These challenges make the judgments which emanate from the tribunal difficult to implement in member countries. Zimbabwe leads in this regard.
In light of these several challenges, let me just quote the decision taken at SADC's 30th jubilee summit which was held in Windhoek, Namibia, from 16 to 17 August 2010: "A review of the role, functions and terms of reference of the SADC Tribunal should be undertaken and concluded within six months."
This is a follow-up of an endorsement of a recommendation that was made by SADC Ministers of justice in April 2010 in Kinshasa. It was not just a meeting of Ministers of justice; the meeting included a delegation of attorneys-general of SADC.
Now, this review is necessary to give this tribunal the necessary credibility and effectiveness to which the hon member referred.
The interpretation of how the SADC Tribunal itself should have been put to use differed across SADC member countries. Many SADC countries assumed that, by acceding to the treaty, there would be no need to ratify the protocol in their respective parliaments. So, this is just one of the big challenges with which the SADC Tribunal is faced.
We truly hope that by the end of the six months, Ministers of justice and attorneys-general of SADC would have applied their minds and taken care of the many loopholes that have been identified by the learned Ministers of justice and attorneys-general. Thank you.