The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has just concluded its extraordinary summit of heads of state and government in Harare, Zimbabwe – yet another largely pointless discussion forum that has once again ignored the biggest problems in the region.

Little, if any, output and follow-up action is expected from what was essentially an opportunity to sip an indulgent cocktail. Nor will it have done much to support President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Africa-focused crusade at the much larger Group of Twenty (G20) summit. ..