President Cyril Ramaphosa has stepped in as chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) with immediate effect. This follows the incumbent Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina fleeing his country after weeks of protests, which created a leadership vacuum in the regional body. During a virtual extraordinary SADC summit, Ramaphosa pledged the organization's commitment to peace, stability, and prosperity to foster socio-economic development.
President Cyril Ramaphosa was originally scheduled to assume the SADC chairmanship in August 2026. However, the sudden departure of Andry Rajoelina from Madagascar prompted Ramaphosa to take over immediately, addressing the resulting leadership gap within the community.
The virtual Extraordinary SADC Summit took place on November 7, 2025, where Ramaphosa chaired proceedings. In his address, he emphasized the organization's foundational principles. "We gather today not merely excellencies, and your majesty to deliberate on the agenda before us but to affirm our shared commitment to peace, stability and prosperity of our region from its inception SADC has stood as a beacon of solidarity but also a community founded on the values of unity, peace mutual benefit and sovereign equality," Ramaphosa stated. He added, "Indeed, challenges confronting our region are profound, but they are also not terminal. Our collective sense of regional solidarity this time is in many ways our strongest currency."
SADC, established to promote solidarity and mutual benefit among southern African nations, faces ongoing regional challenges. Ramaphosa's pledge aims to reinforce efforts toward socio-economic development through unity and sovereign equality. The Presidency of South Africa confirmed Ramaphosa's role via a tweet: "His Excellency President @CyrilRamaphosa chairs the virtual Extraordinary SADC Summit #SADCSummit #BetterAfricaBetterWorld."