SADC to build $45M military logistics hub in Botswana

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has begun constructing a military logistics hub in Botswana to ensure the rapid deployment of troops during regional crises. The facility is a response to the bloc’s inability to quickly intervene in the 2021 insurgency in northern Mozambique.

The SADC Standby Force Regional Logistics Depot is being built on a 19-hectare site in Rasesa, 40 kilometers north of Gaborone, Botswana. The project is estimated to cost $45 million, but only $15 million has been raised. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the current SADC chairperson, appealed to international partners for additional support during the groundbreaking ceremony.

Logistical support

The hub will store resources, personnel, and equipment to ensure the SADC Standby Force can respond swiftly to regional threats to peace and security. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa emphasized the importance of the hub in consolidating peace and stability amid increasing regional threats. Mnangagwa highlighted the need for collective regional action and tactical preparedness. Botswana President Duma Boko on his part described the facility as essential for logistical support in conflict zones, underscoring the SADC’s commitment to addressing distress in strife-torn regions.

Zimbabwean political analyst Effie Dlela Ncube commended the effort but stressed the need to address underlying causes of conflict, such as: Political and socio-economic inequalities, corruption and economic disparities, discrimination based on language or origin, and lack of free and fair elections.

The SADC faces persistent instability in areas such as the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Mozambique. Leaders hope the logistics hub will improve the region’s capacity to intervene in crises effectively, but Ncube and others argue that long-term peace requires addressing systemic issues that lead to conflict.