1

www.comesa.int e

Issue #126 - Friday 19 October 2007 newsletterenewsletter

Group photo: Delegates at the just conluded COMESA Council of Ministers meeting in Lusaka, Zambia

This bulletin is published by the COMESA Secretariat Public Relations Unit but does not necessarily represent views of the Secretariat.

Contact Address : COMESA SECRETARIAT, COMESA Center , Ben Bella Road P.O. Box 30015, 260 1 229 725, 260 1 225 107

www.comesa.int, e.COMESA@comesa.int

Issue #277 10th December 2010

The COMESA Council of Ministers held their Twenty Ninth Meeting in Lusaka, Zambia on 6 December 2010.

The meeting was attended by COMESA cabinet ministers and Senior representa-tives from all the 19 COMESA Member States. COMESA Institutions such as, PTA Bank, the African Trade Insurance Agency, and the COMESA Clearing house were represented by their chief executives. All other COMESA institutions were also represented. Some cooperating partners such as the European Commission, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and India attended as well.

The meeting was presided over by the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, Senator Mrs. Jabulile Mashwama, Min-ister of Commerce, Industry and Trade of the Kingdom of Swaziland. It was opened by Dr. Kalombo Mwansa, the Zambia Minister Defense on behalf of the George Kunda, the Vice President of the Republic of Zambia. In his statement, he commended COMESA for the good work

being undertaken in regional integra-tion while underscoring the need for more coordinated efforts in ensuring that the region effectively realizes the customs union by 2012, through the implementa-tion of agreed regional programmes both at the national and regional levels. He highlighted the importance of harnessing science and technology for development of the region especially in key sectors such as agriculture, health, education and energy. In this regard, he urged Member States to implement the decisions made by the Council of Ministers during their Twenty Eighth meeting.

The Secretary General of COMESA, Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya, made a statement in which he highlighted the importance of reflecting on the progress made in implementing the regional integration pro-grammes and how the programmes have contributed to uplifting the standards of living of COMESA citizens. He cautioned that the COMESA regional economy will remain vulnerable to external shocks as

long as the economies are not structur-ally transformed. He therefore urged the Member States to revisit the strategy for market integration by moving away from trade integration to production integration.

During the opening ceremony, COME-SA signed three Contribution Agreements with the European Union under the Tenth European Development Fund-Regional Integration Support Programme, which will assist in moving forward the COMESA regional integration agenda. These Contribution Agreements are in respect of strengthening of economic integration in the ESA-IO region; the Global Climate Change Adaptation which is aimed at supporting the implementation of the COMESA programme on Climate Change; and the Regional Political Integration and Human Security Programme.

The Council of Ministers meeting re-sulted in a number of key decisions in the regional integration agenda. These Deci-sions cover areas such as macro-economic

Milestone Decisions made at COMESA Council of Ministers Meeting

Continued on page ............... 3

2

www.comesa.inte

The EU and COMESA on 6 De-cember 2010 signed three pro-grammes, which will contribute to

COMESA’s economic integration process and new interventions in the areas of climate change and political integra-tion. These programmes are in line with COMESA’s Medium Strategic Plan 2011-2015. The signing ceremony took place at the Twenty Ninth Meeting of the COMESA Council of Ministers held in Lusaka, Zambia. COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya signed on behalf of COMESA whereas outgoing Head of EU Delegation Dr Derek Fee signed on behalf of the EU.

to “Climate change adaptation and mitigation in the Eastern and Southern African region”, is a multi-donor pro-gramme of € 45 million to which the EU contributes €4 million. Norway is the main donor of the programme. This pro-gramme is part of the EU Global Climate Change Alliance with African, Caribbean and Pacific regions and countries, to step up cooperation between the EU and the developing countries that are hit earliest and hardest by climate change.

The ESA component, which will be implemented over 54 months, seeks to address impacts of climate change in the region through adaptation and mitiga-

harmonisation of policies, strategies and programmes on democratic processes and to promote the culture of democracy in governance systems and structures.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya pointed out that COMESA was the only Regional Economic Community with contribution agreement with the EU having passed through a thorough audit that confirmed that its systems are of international standards. He further assured the gathering that the funds will be very well utilised for the benefit of regional integration.“ I would like to assure our member States and the European Union that the funds will be used to improve compliance and create synergies between national and regional programmes.

In this vein it is worth noting that COMESA has intentions of utilising the 10th EDF regional funding to expand and interconnect key regional trans-port corridors initiated under national EDF envelopes, for example the Kigali – Gatuna connection and the Rwanda – Uganda Northern Corridor, at the cost of about EUR 45 million. COMESA and the European Union are currently apprais-ing a EURO 50 million programme in the context of the North-South corridor” said Mr Ngwenya.

The outgoing Head of EU Delegation accredited to COMESA, Dr Derek Fee, said EU continues to support COMESA in its different missions “With these programmes, the EU demonstrates its commitment to support COMESA in its traditional missions of economic integra-tion as well as in its endeavours to reply to arising global challenges, such as Political and Human Security and Climate Change” Noted Dr Fee.

Dr Derek Fee, who is soon to retire from the European Commission after more than 30 years of service, also stat-ed that he was impressed by the results achieved by COMESA and its Member States and was pleased that the tripar-tite process between COMESA-EAC and SADC reflects the wider integration vision which is needed and will benefit the re-gion and the entire African continent.

EU/COMESA sign three programmes worthy over €55 million to support regional

integration and COMESA’s strategic plan

The first agreement is the Regional Integration Support Programme (RISP2) which supports the economic integration process of the Eastern and Southern Af-rica and Indian Ocean (ESA-IO) region. It seeks to enhance the capacities of the Regional Organisations from the region (COMESA, IOC, IGAD, EAC) and stake-holders in Member States to liberalise trade, create integrated markets and address obstacles to trade. RISP 2 con-sists of a 100% EU contribution of €50 million and will be implemented over the next 36 months through a Contribution Agreement, a mechanism which allows COMESA to implement the programme using its own procedures.

The second programme, which relates

tion actions. In particular, it will help COMESA-EAC-SADC Member States to increase investments in climate resilient and carbon efficient agriculture, forestry, land use and energy practices.

The third programme is the “Regional Political integration and human security support programme”. The project will be implemented by three regional organiza-tions: EAC, IGAD and COMESA at an es-timated cost of €4.9 million. It focuses on regional political integration and seeks to contribute to improved levels of good and democratic governance and human security in the ESA-IO region. As part of the programme, COMESA will benefit from €1.6 million to take the lead on de-mocracy issues and to work towards the

Dr. Derek Fee, Head of EU Delegation (left) and Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya, COMESA Secretary General (right) exchanging the signed documents

3

www.comesa.int e

Economies within COMESA remain vulnerable to the aftershocks of the global economic crisis due to

continued dependence on commodities, COMESA Secretary-General told the Twenty Ninth Meeting of the COMESA Council of Minister and urged for diversi-fication to other sectors. “The recovery of our economy remains fragile because it depends on the price of our export commodities which have re-mained all time high except for 2008 and 2009,” Sindiso Ngwenya told a meeting that took place on the 6th December 2010, in Lusaka Zambia.

“It is interesting to note that the ex-ports in manufactured products were not affected. The lesson we can draw form this is that the time is now for COMESA countries to revisit the strategy for market integration that has placed emphasis on trade; that is trade integration, to produc-tion integration” added Mr. Ngwenya.

Mr. Ngwenya further informed the meeting that the huge demand by nations such as China and India have helped

drive-up prices of commodities since 2008, handing a reprieve for commod-ity exporters even as other sectors took a hit. “It is, however, not certain that these prices will remain at an all time high be-cause should demand fall there will be a precipitous drop in commodity prices that will have negative social consequences,” the official said.

Statistics show that the global fi-nancial crisis hurt the value of intra-

COMESA Secretary General calls for diversification of economic sectors in the region

Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya,COMESA Secretary General

developments, the Regional Integration Support Mechanism, trade in services, the elimination of non tariff barriers, the cus-toms union, the Tripartite Free Trade Area, trade negotiations, science and technology and intellectual property. In addition, the Council noted the Report of the Twenty-Fourth Meeting of the Council of Bureaux on the Third Party Motor Vehicle Insurance (Yellow Card) Scheme and the Report of the Fourth Meeting of the Council of Surety of the Regional Customs Transit Guarantee (RCTG) Scheme. The Council also adopted the COMESA Secretariat Work Programme and budget for the year 2011.

Regarding disputes relating to non tariff barriers, the Council commended Member States for resolving disputes on non tariff barriers. Specifically, the follow-ing disputes were resolved through bilat-eral discussions : The milk dispute between Zambia and Zimbabwe; the milk dispute between Kenya and Zambia; the dis-pute on iron sheets between Malawi and Kenya; and the dispute on milk between Zambia and Zimbabwe. On the Draft Regulations on the elimination of Non Tar-iff Barriers, the Council decided that the draft Regulations should be finalized as

COMESA trade which declined by seven per cent, from $13.7 billion in 2008 to $12.3billion last year.

The bloc’s total trade with the rest of the world, declined by 20 per cent from $301 billion in 2008 to $241 billion in 2009.

Mr. Ngwenya said that although economies within COMESA did not suf-fer devastating effects such as witnessed in developed countries, there were still threats of aftershocks unless member States diversified their respective econo-mies.

“The COMESA regional economy will remain vulnerable to external shocks as long as the economies are not structur-ally transformed. For example, one of the main factors that contributed to the decrease in intra COMESA trade in 2009 was the fall in the demand for commodi-ties, such as, tea and copper in the import-ing countries. It is interesting to note that the exports in manufactured products were not” he pointed out.

soon as possible for appropriate decisions by the Policy Organs.

Regarding the customs union, the Coun-cil decided that migration to the COMESA common external Tariff ( CTN) should be completed by the beginning of 2012, in light of the time left for the transition pe-riod and the varying budget cycles among member States. Further, Member States should implement the Customs Manage-ment Regulations and establish national implementation structures, to effectively implement the transition period for the Customs Union. On the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the Council requested Member States to come up with a work programme of activities to be undertaken in order that the eligible AGOA COMESA member States ably enhance their ability to take advantage of the AGOA preferences. As regards the preparations for the Tenth AGOA Forum to be held in Zambia in 2011, there was need for a mid-term review of AGOA before the Forum is held.

On science and technology, Member States agreed to report to the next Policy Organs on the progress they have made on implementing the Council Decisions on science and technology at the national lev-el. Regarding intellectual property, among others, the Council requested Member

States to consider the harmonization of intellectual property laws in the COMESA region in order to promote a common and effective framework for the utilisation of the intellectual property system for socio-economic and technological development of the region, taking into account the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property.

The COMESA Secretariat working closely with key cooperating partners and the Member States will tirelessly continue to assist member States in the implementa-tion of all COMESA programmes in order to move forward the regional integration agenda at an accelerated pace for the overall benefit of the ordinary people of the region. This will take into account the processes under the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area.

During the meeting, all the COME-SA Institutions presented their reports which indicated their contribution to the COMESA integration agenda. Overall, the Council urged Member States to continue actively participating in the activities of these institutions since they are institutions that support the COMESA regional inte-gration agenda. The cooperating partners made statements at the meeting as well highlighting their continued support to COMESA’ s integration.

Milestone Decisions made at COMESA Council of Ministers Meeting............. Continued from page 1

4

www.comesa.inte

This is our last e-COMESA Newsletter in 2010. The e-COMESA Team takes this

opportunity to wish all our subscribers a Happy Festive season. May you achieve

success in every facets of life and all your heartfelt wishes comes true. Wishing you a

Happy New Year of Happiness and Prosperity.

Officially opening the Twenty Ninth Meeting of the COMESA Council of

Ministers, the Zambian Vice Presi-dent George Kunda, having posed a number of rhetoric questions concluded that the success of the COMESA Customs Union (CU) will depend on the commitment of every Member State to the cause. He said this in a speech read on his behalf by Zambia Defense Minis-ter Dr. Kalombo Mwansa.

Mr Kunda said the success of the COMESA Customs Union which is supposed to be realised by 2012, could only come about through relentless implementation of agreed regional programmes at national and international levels.

“We need to ask ourselves two questions, what progress have we made so far in the implementation of our Customs Union, and more fundamental, what can we do to ensure that more rapid progress is made towards operationalising our Customs Union during the remain-ing one and half years of the tran-

sition period?” asked Mr Kunda . “The region should not lose fo-

cus of the ultimate goal of regional integration and the benefits to the ordinary people. The onus is upon us to make our regional economic grouping a success” he added.

He pointed out that more co-ordinated efforts, both at national and regional levels are required in order to effectively realize the COMESA Customs Union by 2012. He further pointed out that the Customs Union will be benefi-cial to the region due to the remov-al of trade barriers and through the provision of a much larger market for goods produced in the region.

Recalling this year’s theme which is “Harnessing Science and Technology for development”, Mr Kunda said there was need to ensure that science and technology was fully integrated in a horizontal and cross cutting manner which would ensure the involvement of all ministries departments and relevant stakeholders at national level.

He added that science and technology in key sectors such as agriculture and health, is key to achieving the MDGs. He called for a cross-cutting implementation of the science and technology deci-sions at the national and regional level, beginning with establishment of the required institutional frame-works in terms of inter-ministerial national and regional committees. On intellectual property rights, he underscored the importance of harnessing regional intellectual assets and skills, to assist the key objectives of value addition and development.

Lastly, he reminded the Coun-cil that the objective of regional integration is to ensure that ordi-nary people improve their living standards. In this regard, he called upon COMESA to faithfully imple-ment COMESA programs while fully taking into account the need for the ordinary people to benefit from the programs.

COMESA Customs Union Depends on Commit-ment of every Member State - Zambia

Message to e-COMESA subscribers

5

www.comesa.int e

COMESA Civil Societies and private sector organizations agree to play an active role.

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) held its third annual review

workshop for civil society and pri-vate sector organizations in Nairobi, Kenya, from 29th November to 2nd December 2010. The workshop was attended by representatives of both accredited and non-accredited civil society representatives from Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauri-tius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, African Union, IGAD as well as Media organi-sations from Kenya, D.R Congo and Zambia.

At this workshop the civil soci-ety elected a committee that will spearhead the COMESA civil society organizations. The committee com-prises the: Southern Africa Center for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) – ZAMBIA, L’ Union Congolaise des Femmes des Me-dias, (UCOFEM) – DRC, the Africa Peace Forum (APFO) – KENYA and L’ Organisation pour le développent socio-économiques (Bender Djedid) – DJIBOUTI. The committee will serve for a period of two years.

Opening the workshop, Ambas-sador John Lanyasunya of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya, welcomed

the participants to the workshop and appreciated the importance of the workshop which he said resonated well with COMESA’s objectives of Peace and Security in the region.

The ambassador thanked COME-SA for bringing together participants from civil society organisations (CSOs), media and private sector for a formal engagement in the preven-tion and resolution of conflict that require a multiplicity of approaches and actors.

Speaking on behalf of the COME-SA Secretary General, Ambassador Salvator Matata, who is also the COMESA Liaison Officer at the Af-rican Union, commended the Kenyan government for the quick recovery from the post election violence crisis. He further stressed the importance of CSOs in the matters concerning peace and security in the region.

The meeting revisited the 10th COMESA workshop that took place in Kigali, Rwanda in November 2009, where it was agreed that the COMESA Secretariat creates aware-ness among the CSOs on the rules of accreditation. This recommendation was followed by national consultations which were held in Burundi, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Sey-chelles, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia

and Zimbabwe. Ambassador Matata further

informed the meeting that during the summit that took place in Swaziland in August this year, COMESA launched its four pillars in peace and security which are conflict prevention, conflict resolution, post conflict reconstruction and human security.

Mr. Matata briefed the workshop on the peace and security in the re-gion based on the report of the 10th meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of COMESA region.

The report among other things noted that there was progress in the implementation of the peace process in Burundi, consolidation and pro-motion of the peace process in the Comoros, new developments in the peace process in Madagascar, the role played by Uganda and Burundi in the Somali crisis, and the Rwanda Peace Keeping mission in Darfur-Su-dan. The report also noted the recent COMESA election observer missions in Burundi and Rwanda and the security situation along the East African coast.

Representatives of both accredited and non-accredited civil society or-ganisations made brief presentations of the situations in their respective or-ganizations. The presentations focused on activities of the organizations, opportunities encountered and chal-lenges. Participants exchanged views on the above areas in order to find a common ground for intervention.

Also in attendance was Mr Takwa Zebulon Suifon, an Expert in Peace building at the Post Conflict Recon-struction and Development (PCRD) Unit of the Conflict Management Division (CMD), Peace and Security Department (PSD) at the African Union Commission, who shared with the participants the experience of ECOWAS in the peace and security situation. This experience on how ECOWAS overcame some conflicts was commended by the delegates as some of the good practice that could be emulated by the COMESA region.

Delegates at the third annual review workshop for civil society and private sector organizations, in Nairobi, Kenya