COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya. COMESA Takes the Reins of the Tripartite Group

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1 1 Issue #: 538_21 st November 2017 COMESA Takes the Reins of the Tripartite Group The Tripartite FTA was conceived to address conflicting policies and regulatory frameworks arising from multiple membership of the countries in COMESA, EAC, and SADC. Besides, small markets cannot support critical levels of investment and rationalize large infrastructure projects. Secretaries General of COMESA and EAC Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya (L) and Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko during the handing over COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya is the new chair of the Tripartite Task Force that brings together three regional economic communities, namely COMESA, the East African Community and the Southern Africa Development Community. He took over from Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko, Secretary General of the EAC during a brief handing over ceremony conducted at the headquarters of the EAC in Arusha, Tanzania, Friday, 17 November The Tripartite Task Force (TTF) is a mechanism for coordinating the implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA) work programme and serves as the Secretariat of the tripartite policy organs. It is made up of the chief executives of the three RECs. In his acceptance statement, Mr. Ngwenya said: There is still a lot of work that needs to be done for the Tripartite FTA Agreement to enter into force, he said and thanked the outgoing chair for the progress made during his tenure. The last time COMESA held the mantle was in when it successfully steered the tripartite team to the historical launching of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Free Trade Area before handing over to SADC. The position of the Task Force Chairperson is for a duration of one year after which it rotates to the next REC. At the launch of the TFTA, 15 out of the 26 countries that comprised the tripartite signed the Agreement on the spot. The rest of the States said they needed more time to complete their internal processes before signing the documents, which are binding international agreements. Since then, six more countries have signed bringing the total number of signatories to 21. By providing a single economic space with harmonized trade policies and regulatory framework, the Tripartite FTA solves the problem of multiple membership, reduces the cost of doing business, and supports industrialization and cross border infrastructure projects, Mr. Ngwenya said. Countries that signed are expected to proceed to the next level of the ratification process through their legislative assemblies. The Agreement will come into force once ratification is attained by three quarters of the Member States. Currently only Egypt has signed and ratified the Agreement. A minimum of 14 countries are required to ratify the Agreement for it to come into force. Since the launching, the number of countries have increased to 27 with the entry of South Sudan as a partner State of the EAC. Currently, the combined Gross Domestic Product of the Tripartite is USD 1.47 trillion and a population of 674 million. Mr. Ngwenya thanked the African Development Bank (AfDB) for providing part of the financial resources to support awareness creation and advocating for the ratification of the Agreement by the Tripartite Member/Partner States that have signed it. This bulletin is published by the COMESA Secretariat Corporate Communications Unit but does not necessarily represent views of the Secretariat. For Feedback: pr@comesa.int Contact Address : COMESA SECRETARIAT, COMESA Center, Ben Bella Road P.O. Box 30051, , e-comesa@comesa.int

2 2 COMESA and the Rockefeller Foundation to Host Resilience Academy he added, many systems in the region such as energy, transport, communications and financial infrastructure are interconnected, hence placing the organization in a better position to support resilience building in regional integration. The current fragmented and haphazard approach to managing risks, shocks and stresses has proved ineffective as the magnitude of loss and damage continues to escalate, he noted. Building resilience across the board, was the surest way to ensure development in the midst of the ever-present threats occasioned by climate change and other external factors which are projected to increase in intensity and frequency in the coming years. COMESA in collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation will host a Resilience Academy in Lusaka, Zambia, on November The objective of the Resilience Academy is to create awareness on the benefits of resilience thinking and investment, share knowledge and best practices on resilience building within Member States, as well as identify gaps and opportunities to mainstream resilience into national and regional development. The Academy was pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation to improve knowledge and capacity to mainstream resilience in development, and enhance understanding of the linkages between policy and resilience when it comes to addressing climate change and other challenges. COMESA Member States will be represented by senior officials from ministries responsible for planning, disaster management and mitigation units, agriculture, environment and health, all expected in Lusaka for the Academy. This is in addition to other stakeholders who play a key role in mainstreaming resilience and domestication of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction Speaking in Lusaka, the COMESA Climate Change Advisor, Dr. Mclay Kanyangarara said: The choice of COMESA to host the academy was informed by its member states vulnerability to climate change and other natural and man-made shocks. COMESA is a grouping of mostly vulnerable states that face similar threats such as climate change droughts, flooding, industrial shocks, extreme rainfall and disease outbreaks and other man-made stresses. As COMESA seeks to attain its regional integration goals, Resilience is a mind-set as well as a practice that can be taught, learned and perfected. Over the last decade, the Foundation has significant investment in tools and other resources globally, to help individuals, communities and systems to build their economic, social and climate resilience. We are pleased that this support can extend to COMESA member states, so they can be equipped to be better prepared for, and to better address critical challenges to the region s development, said Mamadou Biteye, Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation Africa Regional office. Delegates will be expected to identify gaps and opportunities of resilience mainstreaming at their respective national and regional levels, and subsequently develop back-to-office action plans. These will include developing National Resilience Action Plans using the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction ( ) and examining policy requirements at the national level to achieve resilience. Congratulations to President Kenyatta for Re-election COMESA has congratulated H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta for his victory in the October 26, 2017 repeat Presidential Elections. In a message signed by Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya, the regional bloc described President Kenyatta s compliance to the rule of law and the Constitution of Kenya as admirable. The Republic of Kenya under your leadership, has set another example to the African continent and indeed the world by affirming that Kenya is a country governed by the rule of law rather than the rule of man, the Secretary General said. In September, the Supreme Court of Kenya nullified the August Presidential elections on account of electoral process that were not compliant with the rules. The Court ordered a repeat Presidential election which subsequently took place on 26 October 2017.

3 COMESA, FAO in Joint Effort to Address Mycotoxins COMESA and the Food and Agriculture Organization, (FAO) have embarked on a joint effort to improve food security and nutrition by addressing Mycotoxins, which affect staple foods in the region such as maize and sorghum. Subsequently, they have invited sanitary and phytosanitary experts from COMESA member States and Tanzania and Mozambique for a three-day training on Risk Assessment and Management of Mycotoxins. The training began today in Lusaka, Zambia and is intended to equip the participants with the knowledge to understand the key principles of chemical risk assessment. Addressing the participants, the FAO Representative Mr George Okech said, dietary exposure to mycotoxins in many countries, particularly in Africa remained unacceptably high. There is mounting evidence of the possible linkage between aflatoxins and stunting further underlining the urgency of improved control of mycotoxin contamination in order to achieve targeted food and nutrition security outcomes, he said. Assistant Secretary Ambassador Kipyego Cheluget said the varied human and institutional capacity across Member States was a major constraint contributing to SPS trade related barriers in the COMESA Free Trade area. Differences in standards, laws and regulations, are the leading causes of non-tariff barriers or the failure to find convergence in the SPS standards and regulations that MS enforce for trade, said Ambassador Cheluget. These are in soft infrastructure - such as national SPS surveillance and monitoring systems - and the hard infrastructure - the diagnosis and quarantine infrastructure. It is for this reason, he said, that the SPS Strategy ( ) was developed to narrow the variations in capacity and guide Member States on the harmonization process. Ambassador Cheluget pointed out that capacity development is not without challenges as COMESA trade flows are characterized by high levels of informality, estimated at over 70%. This further complicates the regulatory frameworks that we are trying to harmonize, he said. Through commitment and partnerships with the FAO, he said COMESA, will competently discharge the responsibility of leading the regional integration efforts. In this regard, the two organizations will, in December, sign an agreement to implement some aspects of the SPS/Technical Barriers to Trade Programme under the 11th European Development Fund. Mr. Okech called for full cooperation and active engagement of representatives from COMESA Member States participating in the workshop to play a crucial role in following up within their respective countries and in providing the necessary elements to arrive at sound and harmonized standards. 3 DR Congo Receives Leather Production Equipment Worth 60,000 Euros Sindiso Ngwenya. The Minister said the delivery of the equipment was timely as it will help Government realize the dream of creating jobs especially for the women and youths in the country. This timely gesture shall help our artisans to become professionals and compete at the international level, Minister Ndjoli said. In his speech, Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya said the leather sector in DRC has potential to create the much-needed jobs and create wealth for the people. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa COMESA, has handed over modern leather production equipment worth 60,777 euros to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The equipment was provided through the Technical Cooperation Facility, supported by the European Union. They include, digital design and cutting machines, computerized Zig Zag Machines and hydraulic pressing irons. The equipment is earmarked for the establishment of a modern leather cluster incubation center to be located in Limete area in the capital Kinshasa. They shall be managed under the Office of the Promotion of Congolese Small and Medium Enterprises (OPEC). The equipment will enable the SME Artisans to formalize their business leading to high quality leather products for local, regional and the international market. The objective of the project is to identify and access the means necessary for the establishment of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) leather incubation centers in DRC. The Minister in charge of SMEs, Bienvenu Liyoya Ndjoli received the equipment on behalf of government. They were presented by the COMESA Director of Industry and Agriculture, Thierry Kalonji on behalf of the Secretary General COMESA shall always be there to ensure that all sectors begin to benefit the people of the region, he said. We are not only supporting the Leather sector, but also in Agro Business as well as the textile sectors. The project has been implemented in line with Pillar 2 of the DRC Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper which aims at increasing the supply of decent jobs and developing the private sector. The TCF was established under the Regional Integration Support Programme (RISP) within COMESA to support the setting up of incubation and business centers for developing SMEs. The main objective is to strengthen the regional economic integration process in the COMESA region, to improve its trade competitiveness on a global scale, and to promote trade with the EU.

4 4 Caucus to Integrate Land Linked Countries into Maritime Transport Zambia s Vice President Mrs. Inonge Wina (in green) and delegates during the PMAESA Investors Conference Experts in port management, policy makers and financiers from across Africa began a two-day meeting in Zambia today to explore how to reshape policy and harness the benefits that accrue from maximizing the comparative advantages of land linked countries. Organized by the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA), the meeting targets land linked countries as key facilitators of trade, investments and the development of the maritime sector in East and Southern Africa. Zambia s Vice President Mrs. Inonge Wina opened the meeting. PMAESA is an intergovernmental body comprising Port Authorities, Terminal Operators, government line ministries, logistics and maritime service providers drawn from 25 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa with 11 land-linked countries under its jurisdiction. Addressing the delegates, PMAESA Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the Namibian Ports Authority Mr. Gerson Bisey Uirab described land-linked countries as part of the architecture of the maritime sector which must be fully integrated. The maritime sector offers several opportunities and a future that can support the transformation of African economies, Mr Uirab said. However, this demands that the region develops a comprehensive view of what the maritime sector could be and what it could offer. He said the conference, whose theme is; Raising the profile of land linked countries in the logistics and maritime value chains provides the opportunity to discuss this in detail and reshape the policy. The PMAESA meeting has in recent years revised its approach to focus on the total value chain in response to global competition. According to Mr. Uirab, the aim is to address the needs of member countries, including the participation of the private sector to ensure greater collaboration. Zambia s Vice President commended the organizers for having the meeting in her land linked country for the first time in the history of PMAESA. This, she added shows that land linked countries like Zambia have been recognized for the key role they can play in maritime transport. She said: Hosting this important function is an endorsement of the need to be inclusive in world affairs and will help bridge the gap that landlocked countries face in accessing services of the blue economy. COMESA Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Dr Kipyego Cheluget said COMESA was proud to be associated with PMAESA and the 2017 Conference to address diverse issues under Maritime Transport and Logistics. I am convinced that solutions and strategies to take the subsector forward will be generated during the conference, Amb. Cheluget said. These solutions should essentially contribute towards sustainable transport systems and reduction in the cost of doing business for our region. The Head of the Development Bank of Southern Africa Mr Davies Pwele revealed that the institution will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PMAESA to become the preferred financier for the development of port infrastructure in Eastern and Southern Africa. PMAESA was founded in 1973 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to promote and nurture best practices among sea ports and the logistical industry in general. It promotes the role and competitive advantage of dry ports and inland waterways within the region to drive intra-africa trade and regional integration with the aim of reducing the cost of doing business.

5 5 The 2017 Least Development Countries Report launched in COMESA COMESA was one of the organizations that participated in a simultaneous global launching of the newly released 2017 edition of the Least Developed Countries Report, prepared by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Electricity consumption per capita for the COMESA region was estimated at 605 kilowatt-hours (kwh) per person in 2015 while it was 1,169 kwh in other developing countries. The Report whose theme is Transformational Energy Access focuses specifically on the transformation of energy access. It brings out key issues ranging from the role of energy in sustainable development and as an essential ingredient of inclusive economic structural transformation. While launching the report at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia, Wednesday, November, 22, 2017, the COMESA Director of Infrastructure and Logistics, Mr. Jean Baptiste Mutabazi, said it will provide valuable resource for the Member States in their efforts to address the challenges faced by the energy sector. The main challenges with regards to the energy needs of the region include inadequate level of power generation, low coverage of transmission and distribution infrastructure due to insufficient investment in the energy sector and over reliance of the population on biomass energy, Mr. Mutabazi said Mr. Jean Baptiste Mutabazi growth of more than 7% over the past decade if there was no infrastructure deficit. Currently the average annual growth is 5% to 6% percent. The energy poverty should be seen as an opportunity for investment in power generation and regional interconnectors. High priority should be accorded to the development of regional energy infrastructure to achieve economies of scale. COMESA region is on the way to achieve the Cape to Cairo electricity corridor by implementing Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya interconnector project, he concluded. The ZTK project will interconnect the Southern Africa Power Pool and East Africa Power Pool and pave the way to a competitive regional power market. The main challenges with regards to the energy needs of the region include inadequate level of power generation, low coverage of transmission and distribution infrastructure due to insufficient investment in the energy sector and over reliance of the population on biomass energy, Mr. Mutabazi said Currently, the entire installed generation capacity of COMESA, which has a population of over 500 million people, is estimated to be around 68,000 megawatts, he said. It is estimated that the percentage of COMESA population with access to electricity is about 45% and projections indicate that it will reach 80% by 2040 if multi-billion dollar investments are made in the next ten years. However, energy infrastructure deficit in the COMESA region has constrained the growth of the sector. Mr Mutabazi said the region could have achieved average

6 6 Training for TIDOs Conducted at COMESA Secretariat Participants in a two days capacity building workshop at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia Twenty Trade Information Desk Officers that were recruited recently to facilitate small cross border trade between Eastern D R Congo and the neighboring countries of Rwanda and Uganda are participating in a two days capacity building workshop at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia. The training is part of the implementation of the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation Project (GLTFP) supported by the World Bank. It covers three border points between DR Congo and Uganda and two between DR Congo and Rwanda. The training is intended to enhance the capacity of the TIDOs to effectively deliver on their duties and responsibilities of serving the small scale cross border traders, majority of whom are women. In addition, it is a platform for sharing experiences by various stakeholders in the implementation of the COMESA Simplified Trade Regime (STR) at the project border posts. The training will also serve as a forum for creating awareness on the Regulations on the minimum standards for the treatment of small scale cross border traders and the role Trade Information Desk Officers in facilitating small scale cross border trade at the borders. As people on the ground, you are a very important link between the Secretariat and the communities that we are serving, said the Director of Trade and Customs, Dr. Francis Mangeni in a speech presented by Senior Trade Officer, Tasara Muzorori during the official opening of the training. Farewell Marjorie He added: I expect you to be constantly aware of developments in the region and issues affecting small scale traders so that together we can deal with them in our joint efforts to facilitate trade. He asked the TIDOs to focus on how to assist the smallscale cross-border traders conduct their businesses in dignity, free of the impediments they often experience as informal business people. The training builds on the induction training held in Rwanda in June 2017 and will provide in-depth information on the STR, gender, reporting of project activities, negotiation skills and basic conflict resolution. With deep sorrow, COMESA mourns the sudden death of Mrs. Majory Gwaze, a Registry Unit staff under the Division of Human Resources and Administration. Mrs. Gwaze passed away in the early hours of Thursday, 23rd November My God Rest her Soul in Eternal Peace