{Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) has taken a further step to drive its more than 20 member states to push the integration agenda forward, as calls to harmonise and implement regional integration among three of Africa’s major economic groupings heighten.}
Barely a month after its counterpart, Southern African Development Community (SADC) held its summit in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, with an agenda that focused on pursuing regional integration, Comesa is calling its members to maximise on the 33 million Euro funding meant for the same purpose.
Comesa, SADC and East African Community (EAC) seek to harmonise trade among all the members and establish a common market to carter for more than 800 million people with a Gross Domestic Product of over US$1 trillion.
Among the resolutions taken at the just-ended stakeholders meeting, Comesa says it has secured 33 million Euros to accelerate regional integration and has invited all the members to apply for the funds before the deadline set for September 28, 2014.
The resources are provided through the 10th European Development Fund (10th EDF) under the Comesa Adjustment Facility (CAF) Regional Integration Support Mechanism (RISM).
Thirteen countries are so far benefiting from the first tranche of the funds amounting €78 million, which was provided under the 9th EDF for the period 2008-2014.
These are Burundi, Djibouti, DR Congo, Comoros, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Four additional countries are expected to join in the 10th EDF for 2014-2016 periods bringing the total number of eligible States to 17. Allocations and disbursement of RISM funds are given against the formulation and implementation of well-defined and ambitious regional integration indicators of individual member states.
And to help the countries prepare their proposals, Comesa hosted a one-week regional workshop for the technical officials from the qualified States from August 25-29. They are drawn from ministries of finances and those that coordinate Comesa affairs.
“With these resources, the focus is now on designing programmes and utilizing the resources in a manner that achieves the maximum impact,” Comesa Secretary-General, Sindiso Ngwenya, told the officials that attended the workshop in Lusaka.
It has been noted however, that member states have been experiencing difficulties in accessing and utilising the funds owing to delays in submission of projects and provision of sources of verification.
“When the Comesa Adjustment Facility was initiated and later funded by the EU, the greatest concern was on the capacity to implement regional integration programmes at the national level,” Ngwenya said.
Such concerns have not only been in the absence of capacities to ensure that decisions are domesticated but that programmes are designed and implemented.
Similar sentiments were echoed by the EU representative, Daniel Dominguez. He observed at the dame workshop that since the programme was new, there were too many levels of decision making thus slowing down access and utilisation of funds.
“We have learned from all those issues and are now confident that they are things of the past,” Dominguez said.
New challenges are, however, emerging including the absorption capacity, efficient and effective utilisation of resources and achievement of impact.
Ngwenya attributed such challenges to preoccupation with processes rather than results by officials responsible for implementation.
“The regional integration process is not for the benefit of governments but the consumer, who is not bothered with policies, strategies or instruments in place,” he stated adding that:
“What the consumer wants is a wide choice of goods and services, at the right time, with the right quality.”
He asked officials to design programmes that influence production capacities, the quantity and quality of manufacturing and the improvement in services that have the potential to drive the regional economy.
These, Ngwenya said should involve the private sector to enable them become players in the Comesa market and with the wider global economy.
Meanwhile the declaration by the Heads of State of SADC to embark on an expeditious completion of the tripartite Free Trade Area negotiations has gained momentum with efforts to clear outstanding issues.
Ngwenya who is the current chair of the Comesa Tripartite says a convergence of thinking is emerging that will unlock the impasse.
Speaking last week when he bid farewell to the outgoing Zimbabwe Permanent Representative to Comesa, Lovemore Mazemo, Ngwenya said the leadership provided by the SADC Heads of State will help in concluding the negotiations.
“Economic transformation will be achieved through regional integration as no individual country can succeed alone but collectively on the based on the economies of scale,” Comesa said in a statement citing Ngwenya as saying
The Comesa Treaty supports growth clusters whereby a few countries in the regional bloc keen to fast tract some aspects of the integration programmes can do so.
This could apply between neighbouring states such as through the creation of one border control systems not only for land based transportation but also airspace.
“If Africa is to become a driver of global economic growth, it should transcend nationalist pre-occupations to create a genuine economic space by planning regionally and not nationally. This will ensure the continent does not remain at the bottom of the league.”
Ambassador Mazemo, who is also the outgoing High Commissioner to Zambia, observed that the unity of purpose that drove the freedom fighters to win independence from colonialism needs to be rekindled in dealing with economic liberation.
“The struggle for economic independence and empowerment should be driven with the same passion of the freedom fighters, this time around focusing on regional integration”, he said.
Mazemo said Comesa has experience in dealing with the highest number of member states, and so it has acquired the requisite skills and leadership to steer the tripartite negotiations to a successful conclusion.
Comesa, together with EAC and SADC has been engaged in negotiations that will lead to the launch of a Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), which is planned before the end of this year.
southerntimesafrica.com
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