1 IOM, COMESA Pledge Fresh Impetus Towards Free Movement Issue #: 537_10 th November 2017 Given the special mandate of COMESA, which is the promotion of cross border trade, the movement of capital and goods cannot happen without the free movement of people, Mr Kwenin IOM Regional Director for Southern Africa Charles Kwenin (L) and COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya COMESA and the International Organization on Migration (IOM) have resolved to give fresh impetus towards the implementation of programmes on the free movement of people across the region. Given the special mandate of COMESA, which is the promotion of cross border trade, the movement of capital and goods cannot happen without the free movement of people, he said. on the ground. Migration is highest within our region and we must stop thinking that people are migrating to the developed world. they are moving across these borders here, Mr Kwenin added. He cited the ECOWAS region as advanced in migration policies as citizens of the member States could move freely in that region. The new IOM Regional Director for Southern Africa, Further, the IOM will support capacity building to help Mr. Charles Kwenin and Secretary General of COMESA balance the skills gap in the region by identifying Sindiso Ngwenya agreed that the missing link in countries that have excess and those that were deficient effective integration of the region was free movement with a view of addressing them. in addition to non- tariff barriers. He regretted that the African region did not have The two were speaking in Lusaka, Thursday 2nd migration data which is critical in informing migration November 2017, at the accreditation of Mr. Kwenin policies. He emphasized the need to collect accurate as the IOM Special Representative to COMESA. Mr data on migration and use the information to demystify Kwenin said he will work closely with COMESA to the issue of migration. promote One Stop Border Posts and facilitate the mobility of goods and services. Having accurate and updated migration data will help the region provide empirical evidence on the reality Mr. Ngwenya said his organization will work with IOM to explore possibilities of exchange programmes that will enable COMESA member States to learn best practices on migration from ECOWAS. COMESA and IOM have over the years worked together advocating for the full implementation of various programmes which will eventually lead to a deepened economic integration, Ngwenya said. These programmes include the COMESA protocol on Gradual Relaxation and Eventual Elimination of Visas commonly known as the Visa Protocol. They have 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 to page 3 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: e-comesa@comesa.int
2 Cycling for SDGs: COMESA Lends a Hand Seventeen cyclists were, on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, flagged off from the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia on a 500 KM road trip to Livingstone. The initiative is intended to raise awareness on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). woman in the team of cyclists for her confidence to take part in the grueling trip noting that this was a strong statement on the place of gender equity in all aspects of social economic development. COMESA donated 100 T-shirts for the initiative. Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Kipyego Cheluget flagged off the cyclists that included one woman and 16 men. COMESA is a strong believer in the SDGs and their important role in transforming our world hence our support to this initiative, Ambassador Cheluget said. It is an exciting moment to see young people energized to popularize the 17 SDGs. The activity was organized by Afrikaspeaks, a civil society organization. Mr Munyaradzi Muzenda, the AfricaSpeaks Director said the cyclists will ride for 54 km daily representing the 54 African countries. COMESA Assistant Secretary General (Programmes) Ambassador Dr Kipyego Cheluget flagging off the cyclists The main objective of the cycling is to sensitize Zambia, COMESA and Africa on the SDGs and the Africa we want and how no one should be left behind to achieve them, he said. Specifically, how Zambian Youths and COMESA young people can use their dreams and talents to empower themselves to live their dreams in achieving the SDGs. COMESA Director of Gender Mrs Beatrice Hamusonde applauded the young people for taking the initiative to popularize the SDGs. Specifically, she lauded the only COMESA Director of Gender & Social Affairs, Beatrice Hamusonde with the only female cyclist
COMESA in the AU RECs Consultative Forum 3 Chair of the AUC H.E Moussa Mahamat (2nd left) Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya (2nd right) and senior officials of the African Union Commission. Chief Executives Officers of the Regional Economic Communities met with the Chair of the African Union Commission H.E Moussa Faki Mahamat, November 8, 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for consultation on the proposed reforms on the continental body. COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya participated in the AU-RECs consultative forum. The consultation follows a decision made by the AU Assembly in January 2017 on a report presented by the President of Rwanda H.E Paul Kagame. In the report, President Kagame proposed reforms covering five areas. Among them, the need for African Union to focus on key priorities with continental scope as well as the sustainable financing of the organization. Some of the key elements of the AU reform that are relevant to RECs are; the need for clear division of labour. This is intended to achieve effective collaboration between AU, RECs and member States and other continental institutions in line with the principle of subsidiarity. The joint engagement of the AU-REC with strategic partners is another key element in the proposed reforms given that the two mobilize resources from the same donors sometimes to finance the same programs. Meanwhile, the Secretary General conducted a mission to Sudan where he had a series of meetings with senior government officials. They included HE Dr. Mohamed Osman Suliman Elrikaby, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, H.E Mr Atta Elmanan, State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and H.E Mr Ibrahim Adam Ibrahim, State Minister, Ministry of Social Development and...free Movement continued from page 1 also collaborated in the acquisition of signatures and ratification for the entry into force of the COMESA protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Labour, Services, Right of Establishment and Residence commonly known as the Free Movement Protocol. The two organization have achieved this through the implementation of the Regional Consultative Process on Migration Issues (RCP), provision of technical assistance to COMESA member states aimed at enhanced implementation of the COMESA Visa protocol and the development of an awareness creation programme on COMESA Legal instruments on Free Security. The SG also met with Senior Management of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). The meeting discussed support by the Bank to COMESA integration programs. He also had separate meetings with the with Deputy Governor and Senior Staff at the Central Bank of Sudan and the Union of Chambers of Commerce of Sudan. Movement of Persons which is currently being piloted at the Chirundu One Stop Border Post. As we move forward, the Secretary General said, we look forward to continue working with IOM on programmes such as the development of a regional data base and information sharing system on migration issues. He called for introduction of innovative, simple and practical ways of dealing with migration issues in the region. He described the free movement of people and removal of trade barriers as critical as these underpinned most African economies.
4 Youth Internship Programme Developed Delegates at the COMESA, UN Women & AARDO Regional Workshop COMESA Secretariat has developed a regional Youth Internship and Volunteer Programme whose overall objective is to increase youth employment of decent and productive jobs for young graduates. The programme will particularly target young women graduates in the region who join the labour market every year. The programme has received technical and financial support from the United Nations Volunteer programme (UNV), and is expected to contribute to the full achievement of the COMESA Youth programme. This follows a COMESA Council of Ministers decision of March 2015 that sought to address various challenges that young women and men in the region experience in order to empower and enable them take up active roles in the development of their respective countries and the region. In addition to this new programme, COMESA has been implementing various other programmes for the promotion of gender equality, women economic empowerment and social development. These programmes include the 50 million African Women Speak Platform and the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation project that support women small scale cross border traders. The development of the programme was announced during the opening of the regional workshop on Empowerment of Youth through capacity building and entrepreneurship development in Lusaka, Monday 6 November 2017. COMESA collaborated with the UN Women, the African-Asian Rural Development organization (AARDO) and the Zambian government to host the workshop. Addressing participants at the workshop, Assistant Secretary General in Charge of programmes Ambassador Kipyego Cheluget invited all youths in the region to take keen interest in the programme as it is meant to empower them by creating decent and productive work opportunities. In his statement, AARDO Assistant Secretary General Dr Manoj Nardeosingh said his organization is committed to empower youths as they are key to building and shaping the future. He called on African governments, policy makers and the private sector to take the initiative to build capacity of the young population by addressing skills gaps, credit needs and market access among other issues. Many African countries have strategies for the development of your young people but these do not necessarily translate into better lives for the young. Innovation and technology need to be the game changer for the young people, Dr Nardeosingh added. Permanent Secretary in Zambia s Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child development Mrs. Agness Musunga urged the youths to actively participate in the deliberations and share ideas and practical experiences and interventions undertaken in the various countries to address challenges that youths face. The two-day meeting in Lusaka attracted participants from the COMESA Secretariat, UN Women and Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Sudan and Zambia. CMI develops Systemic Risk Assessment Tools manual The COMESA Monetary Institute has produced a manual on Systemic Risk Assessment Tools which will be used in Central banks around the region as a knowledge product. The purpose of the manual is to equip the users with practical understanding of systemic risk analysis tools. CMI recently organized a validation workshop for representatives of Central Banks to review and provide feedback on the manual that will soon be published. The manual will provide member Central Banks a practical guide to development of composite financial stability indices to guide in policy formulation. CMI Director Mr Ibrahim Zeidy pointed out that the manual specifically covers practical application and development of composite financial stability indices which involves four stages namely; Defining the indices, Indicator selection, Statistical methodology and verification and validation.
Iran, COMESA Explore Joint Business Ventures cooperation between the two sides to facilitate trade. 5 Secretary General Ngwenya said the cooperation with Iran shall assist the region in the transfer of skills through training and capacity building (road maintenance, power and electrical, irrigation and water management, vaccine and animal health management, agricultural/natural resource research and other relevant areas). His Excellency Ahmad (L) and COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Zambia including mining, energy, agricultural, pharmaceuticals, and Zimbabwe His Excellency Ahmad Erfanian has financial as well as promotion of business linkages presented his Letter of Credence to Secretary-General between the COMESA Business Council and the Iranian Sindiso Ngwenya as his country s special representative to COMESA. The presentation ceremony was conducted at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Monday, November 6, 2017. Ambassador Erfanian said his country is keen on investment in the various sectors of the region s economies The 2017 edition of the Sixth Annual Gender Pre-forum on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance took place in Lusaka, Zambia, Thursday, November 2, 2017 with a call on co-existence in enhancing the role of young women in governance. Convened under the theme, Building on Progress, Sustaining the Gains: Enhancing young Women s participation in Political Processes, the three-day forum was organized by the African Union s African Governance Architecture secretariat in collaboration with Women and Gender Development Directorate for the Africa Union Commission and supported by COMESA. The forum ran from 1st to 3rd November 2017. It had attracted women political leaders, young women aspiring for political offices and seasoned experts in Africa as participants. Others were from Civil society organizations, the academia and the media. The Gender Pre-Forum is part of the preparatory meetings leading to the High-Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance in Africa. The AGA Platform private sector. Iran has a promising perspective in energy, mining, health, agriculture and many more and so we can have more cooperation in these sectors and help boost economies of the countries in the region, he said. I hope, at the very beginning, we shall be able to establish the Iranian/ COMESA Business council as well as establish banking Opportunities for joint ventures between COMESA and the Iranian private sectors are in petroleum refineries, agro processing, water and waste water management, motor vehicles/tractor assembly, farm machinery production, pharmaceutical production, veterinary drugs production, livestock/livestock products, road and railway development, dam construction, mineral exploration and production, energy projects, cement manufacturing and housing development. Iran is already developing bilateral cooperation with some COMESA Member States including Sudan, Eritrea, Malawi and Zimbabwe. COMESA, AU hosts the 6th Gender Pre-forum places high premium on the meaningful participation of women; both young and old in the democratic governance processes. Speaking to delegates during the official opening of the forum, COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya said despite the gains and all the changes that have been recorded in terms of the rights of women in the 21-century, women still face key issues that halt their ability to live a fulfilling life. In a speech presented by Head of Peace and Governance at the Secretariat, Elizabeth Mutunga, the Secretary General said: The success for women in the public realm or life outside the home, depends on progress in the private realm as well. Lack of accessible, affordable child care was reported as one of the major obstacles women face in professional development around the world and this is just one of the challenges faced by women. The Pre-forum sought to provide a platform through which In February 2010, COMESA and Iran signed an Aide Memoir to formalize and promote cooperation in health, infrastructure, agriculture, maritime transport, manufacturing, energy, project preparation and financing. the challenges facing young women s political participation can be examined and devise concrete strategies to enhance their effectiveness and meaningful participation in political processes in Africa. COMESA is implementing the gender Policy which has a dedicated section on women s participation in decision making, leadership and Governance. The policy calls on Member States to ensure 50:50 representation of women in political decision making, ensure creation of a conducive social environment to support women, ensure creation of facilitative legal and policy environment for women s participation in politics and ensure equal opportunities for women and men in politics. Other Speakers included, Madam Marie Goretti, Regional Liaison Adviser for the UN Women, Ethiopia Office, and Ambassador Salah Hammed, the acting Head of Africa Governance Architecture and Talumba Banda, Gender Expert at the COMESA Secretariat.