Instead, they reportedly reserved the third position in the hierarchy - chief director - for women. There were two contenders for the deputy executive secretary’s position, Bookie Kethusegile-Juru of Botswana and Joao Caholo of Angola.
After protracted deliberations, the ministers are reported to have settled for Caholo. Now the final decision rests with the summit of heads of state and government who can either confirm the appointment or defer it.
The factors that allegedly worked for Caholo include his former positions of junior minister and coordinator of the SADC energy sector. He was the director of the SADC Energy Commission. Kethusegile is a technical advisor (Gender) seconded to SADC by the Commonwealth Secretariat. She was formerly head of programmes for the Women in Development -Southern Africa Awareness (WIDSAA) and the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC).
The interview panel comprised Mauritius, Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa. Those close to the process say the appointment of the deputy executive secretary was not an easy decision. Some members of the interview panel felt that the gender equity policy should take precedence in the exercise as both candidates had appropriate skills.
At the end of the day, political considerations appear to have held sway. Angola had badly wanted the post of the executive secretary back in 2001 in Windhoek and they had fielded a woman candidate of ministerial standing. Then the country had unleashed an elaborate campaign for Dr. Albino Assis Africano, former Angolan petroleum minister. It is obvious they did not take kindly to the fact that she was overlooked in favour of Dr Prega Ramsamy. This time round, other members read Angola’s resolve and there were no options but to mollify the country.
Meanwhile, this seemingly business-like summit is expected to announce and swear in the new executive secretary and the deputy by tomorrow.
