to read/download e-COMEA Newsletter Issue No. 478

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Issue #: 478_7th March 2016
Member States urged to speed-up
signing the Tripartite Agreement
The COMESA Council of Ministers has urged
Member States that have not signed the Tripartite
Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement to do so and
those that have signed to start the ratification
process.
During the Sixth Extra Ordinary meeting in
Lusaka, Zambia held on 03 – 04 March 2016,
the Ministers noted that since the launch of the
TFTA in June 2016, sixteen out of the 26 countries
had signed the agreement. So far, none of the
tripartite countries have ratified the Agreement.
Those that have signed include Angola, Burundi,
Comoros, D R Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya,
Malawi, Namibia, Seychelles, Rwanda, Sudan,
Tanzania, Uganda, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
Giving an update on the status of the TFTA,
the COMESA Secretariat reported that national
consultations on signing were on-going in Lesotho
and Seychelles while similar consultations on
ratification were underway in Sudan, Swaziland
and Zimbabwe.
Council of Ministers meeting in session
Uganda gets additional CAF/ RISM
funds for Regional Integration
COMESA and Uganda have signed for
additional support worth €507,370.19 for the
implementation of Uganda’s Regional Integration
Implementation Programme (RIIP).
At the Summit that launched the TFTA in June
2015, in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, the Heads of
State and Government directed the tripartite
member and partners states to expedite the
conclusion of the outstanding negotiation issues.
Speaking after signing the addendum on 02
March 2016, COMESA Secretary General Sindiso
Ngwenya said this support is in addition to
€964,172 and €1,354,337 received by Uganda in
2012 and 2013 under the CAF /RISM programme
respectively.
These were in the Phase I of the negotiations
process covering tariff offers, trade remedies and
Rules of Origin. A timeframe of 12 months from
the date of the launching was given to conclude
the issues.
This brings the total support for Uganda’s RIIP
to €2,825,879.10 under COMESA’s Adjustment
Facility’s Regional Integration Support Mechanism
programme funded by the European Union (EU).
Sindiso Ngwenya
“The additional resources are meant to strengthen
implementation of already existing regional
integration project activities for Uganda. These
activities include enhancing intra-regional trade
through improved trade facilitation; and enhanced
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Uganda gets additional CAF/ RISM ...
Member
States urged...
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The tripartite was founded on three pillars namely:
market integration, industrial development and
infrastructure development. Phase I covers the
market integration pillar, which includes the
removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers; as well as
the implementation of trade facilitation measures,
all of which are essential for the establishment of
a well-functioning Tripartite FTA.
The Ministers were informed that considerable
amount of work had been done during three
subsequent meetings convened by the technical
working groups on Rules of Origin and Trade
remedies. As a result, six out of seven annexes
that had been finalized were submitted to legal
scrubbing.
These are Annexes 3,5,6,7,8,9 on non-tariff
barriers, customs cooperation, trade facilitation,
transit trade and transit facilitation, technical
barriers to trade and sanitary and phyto-sanitary
measures respectively.
Tariff negotiations take place bilaterally between
and among the tripartite/ member States and
Customs territories. The outcomes of these
bilateral negotiations are then presented to the
Tripartite Trade Negotiation Forum.
competiveness of private sector to maximize
regional value chains,” Ngwenya said.
He said Uganda’s Regional Integration
Implementation Project (RIIP) also increases
the competiveness of goods and services and
streamlines transportation measures to reduce
the cost of moving goods between countries and;
improving the business environment for private
sector growth.
The main focus of Uganda’s RIIP is to maximize
the benefits of that country’s accession to the
Free Trade Area, which was effective on 01 July
2014. In line with this, the project is supporting
the construction and operationalization of Border
The resources will strengthen
implementation of already existing
regional integration project activities
for Uganda thus enhancing intraregional trade through improved
trade facilitation, and enhanced
competiveness of the private sector to
maximize regional value chains.”
Markets in key strategic border areas like Katuna.
The project further aims to build capacity for Small
and Medium Enterprises and Cross Border Traders
in terms of value addition, value chain linkages in
various sectors to facilitate access to the regional
markets for wealth and employment creation for
the Ugandan people.
New steps to empower the youths
COMESA and the Global Peace Foundation have
renewed their Memorandum of Understanding
on the implementation of the COMESA Youth
programme.
The two will work closely together to promote youth
participation in development activities including
decision-making process at country, regional and
continental levels.
The areas of co-operation stated in the MoU include
coordinating and facilitating the implementation of
the COMESA Youth programme and related projects.
This will be in line with the COMESA Social Charter,
In their final decisions, the Ministers urged Member
States to confirm their tariff offers to other TFTA
Member/Partners States and submit their tariff
2012 books to the Secretariat by 30 April 2016.
The books should show clearly all current trade
regimes they participate in and duties on products
originating from TFTA countries.
On rules of origin, the Ministers noted that 47.9
percent of all chapters relating to the negotiation
on list rules remained outstanding and these
represented 55% of total intra-tripartite trade
value.
Further, the Ministers supported the adoption and
approval for legal scrubbing on the Annexes on
Rules of Origin and a dynamic approach to the
negotiation of the rules based on key identified
indicators.
COMESA weekly newsletter
African Youth Charter and the United Nations Youth
Programme, according to the COMESA Director of
Gender, Mrs Beatrice Hamusonde.
She said the two parties will also assist in mitigating
high youth unemployment in Africa as a whole and
the COMESA region in particular.
Mr Beatrice Hamusonde, Director of Gender and Social Affairs
2015 that Member States should lead the
implementation of the COMESA Youth programme by
The overall objective of the MoU is for the two
putting measures in place to implement it.
organizations to contribute to the achievement
“This programme was adopted by the 34th Council
of the African Agenda 2063 and the sustainable
of Ministers in Addis Ababa in March 2015 as a way
development goals and targets on youth
of realizing the demographic dividend of investing
empowerment through coordination of the
in the youth,” Mrs Hamusonde said.
implementation of the COMESA Youth Programme
and related projects.
Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya and Global Peace
Foundation Africa Regional Representative Insu Choi
The MoU was necessitated after considering the
decision by the Council of Ministers in December
signed on behalf of their respective organizations.
Financially inclusive eco-system will
enhance COMESA integration agenda
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“The role of the Central Bank of Kenya in this
regard is centered on the promotion of an
enabling legal and regulatory framework that
fosters the development of a diverse range of
financial service providers while guaranteeing its
dual mandate of financial stability and financial
integrity,” Dr Njoroge said.
The Director of the CMI, Mr Ibrahim Zeidy said
that COMESA’s integration agenda requires
enhanced private sector development that
Delegates attending the workshop on financial inclusion
A financially inclusive eco-system that takes on
also recommended the preparation of Model
board all financial service providers will enhance
Strategy for Financial inclusion in the COMESA
the regional integration agenda espoused by the
region from 2017-2022.
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA).
The framework details performance benchmarks
for financial inclusion; a wider basket of
Pursuant to this objective, the COMESA Monetary
products and services for financially excluded
Institute (CMI) has begun the process of
and possible delivery channels of the identified
developing a model strategy for enhancing
services.
financial inclusion in the COMESA Region.
Working with the African Development Bank
The Governor, Central Bank of Kenya, Dr Patrick
(AfDB) and Alliance Forum Foundation
Njoroge told the delegates that the development
(Japan), the CMI organized a workshop in
of proportionate, risk based, regulations
Nairobi (24 February – 01 March 2016) for
by policy makers is critical to guaranteeing
COMESA Member States entitled: “Enhancing
the development of a dynamic, robust and
Financial Inclusion in COMESA Region - through
sustainable microfinance framework for a
Enhancement of the Regulatory and Supervisory
country.
Framework.”
Citing the case for Kenya, the Governor stated:
The workshop was attended by participants
“While commendable achievements have been
from Burundi, Union of the Comoros, Djibouti,
made, in the past six years the microfinance
DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,
sector is faced with key challenges, which
Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Sudan, Swaziland,
include among others high cost of credit,
Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
inadequate products and services and weak
consumer protection framework.”
The workshop produced a regulatory and
He therefore emphasized the critical role of
supervision framework which balances
Central Banks in providing a diverse range of
financial inclusion and financial stability and
financial products to the unbanked.
ensures sufficient access to finance by Micro,
Small and Medium enterprises. He emphasized
the importance of preparing a Model Regional
Financial Inclusion Strategy, which is aimed at
providing a blueprint for enhancing financial
inclusion in the region.
The Chairman of the Alliance Forum Foundation
Board and Special Advisor to the Cabinet Office
of the Prime Minister of Japan, Mr George Hara
underscored the importance of Public Interest
Capitalism. He said this was the key to creating a
thick layer of middle class.
“Such a system will enable companies to
serve the interest of all stakeholders, namely
customers, employees, executives and business
partners, through products, services, and
employment,” he said.
Others who addressed the delegates included
Mr Tadashi Yokoyama and Mr Julius Karuga of
the African Development Bank Group.
The workshop followed a directive by the
COMESA Committee of Governors of Central
Banks held in Lusaka, Zambia in November
2015, to develop a model strategy for
enhancing financial inclusion in the COMESA
region.
COMESA weekly newsletter
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FEMCOM Zimbabwe Chapter launched
COMESA and FEMCOM Secretariats for the
continued support to women’s activities
including financial assistance.
“My ministry will continue to assist and
support FEMCOM Zimbabwe Chapter in
collaboration with the Ministry of Industry
and Commerce to ensure women in
business benefitted from the economic
activities in all sectors,” she said.
FEMCOM Chief Executive Officer, Mrs
Mrs Kathrine Ichoya, Director, FEMCOM
Katherine Ichoya said FEMCOM’s vision
The Federation of National Associations of
integration cannot succeeded without
was to support women in business in the
Women in Business in COMESA (FEMCOM)
full and equal participation of women in
region through programmes that promote,
has launched the National Chapter in
business. COMESA Secretariat is therefore
encourage and serve the needs of women
Zimbabwe.
working closely with FEMCOM Secretariat
and their businesses in collaboration with
to strengthen the national chapters,” she
relevant partners at all levels.
The launch is one of the key activities of
said.
the Regional Integration Implementation
Through the Regional Integration
Project (RIIP) in Zimbabwe supported by
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Women Affairs,
Implementation Project, FEMCOM
the COMESA Adjustment Facility’s Regional
Gender and Community Development
Zimbabwe Chapter intends to build
Integration Support Mechanism (CAF/
Honorable Nyasha Chikwinya, thanked
capacity for women in business
RISM). The programme funded by the
management skills through training and
European Union (EU).
networking with other regional chapters.
“FEMCOM was founded by COMESA
Zimbabwe signed a grant agreement with
Speaking at the official launch
on the idea that regional economic
in Harare, Zimbabwe, recently,
integration cannot succeeded
under the 9th European Development
without full and equal participation
Fund (EDF) from the European Union for
COMESA Assistant Secretary General
for Administration and Finance,
Ambassador Nagla El-Hussainy
of women in business. COMESA
congratulated the Government of
Secretariat is therefore working
Zimbabwe for officially launching the
FEMCOM national chapter.
closely with FEMCOM Secretariat to
strengthen the national chapters,”
“FEMCOM was founded by COMESA
on the idea that regional economic
COMESA weekly newsletter
she said.
COMESA worth of €4.2 million for the RIIP
RIIP for the period 2014-2016.
FEMCOM was established in July 1993, in
Zimbabwe by the COMESA Heads of State
and Government.
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