to read/download e-COMEA Newsletter Issue No. 478
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to read/download e-COMEA Newsletter Issue No. 478
1 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 story on page 2 to page 2 This bulletin is published by the COMESA Secretariat Corporate Communications Unit but does not necessarily represent views of the Secretariat. For Feedback: [email protected] Contact Address : COMESA SECRETARIAT, COMESA Center , Ben Bella Road P.O. Box 30051, +260 211 229 725, +260 211 225 107 www.comesa.int; email: [email protected] COMESA weekly newsletter 2 Uganda gets additional CAF/ RISM ... Member States urged... continued from page 1 continued from page 1 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 3 “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 4 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. 4