Regional July 2005 |
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| Comesa challenged to seal regional integration, (The Sunday Mail, 2005-07-03):-Comesa member states have been urged to complete the integration of the region and produce a definitive timetable for a complete Free Trade Area and a clear roadmap for the customs union. Comes a chairman and also the Rwandan President, Mr Paul Kagame, said this last month at the 10th summit of the Comesa Authority of Heads of State and Government held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The theme for this year's summit was "Deepening Regional Integration through Comesa Customs Union". Zimbabwe is a member of Comesa and was represented by the Minister 01 Finance, Dr Herbert Murerwa. In its (Comesa's) final communique of the just ended summit, President Kagame said that Comesa is an embodiment of better mutual understanding and an instrument for achieving development, peace and stability for the benefit of member states. He pointed out the paradox that, despite the fact that Africa is endowed with enormous natural and human resources, the continent still suffers from hunger, famine, poverty and other economic ills. The Comesa chairman expressed concern that the gross domestic product (GDP) of sub-Saharan Africa is less than 2 percent of the world domestic product, yet Africa is part of the global economy. He highlighted the challenges of globalisation and emphasised that to face those challenges, Comesa member states need to take the route of regiona integration and strengthen regional blocs such as Comesa. Through Comesa, member states can pool their resources and create a more stable and predictable environment that is essential for the private sector to flourish. The Rwandan head of state also outlined that Comesa needs to make resolute efforts to establish feasible timetables for necessary reforms and work towards greater institutional and economic convergence. He added that the main measures necessary to attain this objective include the removal of tariff barriers, tariffharmonisation, legal and regulatory reform, rationalisation of the payment systems, investment incentives, tax system harmonisation and labour market reform. In addition, he noted that the protocol on free movement of people should be implemented. He also emphasised the need to accelerate the ratification of the protocol on the Comesa fund. Regarding the programme for the Comesa Customs Union, the Comesa chairman called upon member states to commit themselves to the diligent implementation of the roadmap to be agreed upon. He further urged member states to address the supply side of regional integration through value addition to goods and services produced in the region to increase the benefits from the trade liberalisation programme. Meanwhile, after the formal opening of the summit, Comesa member states decided and agreed that the Comesa Customs Union should be established by December 2008 and urged member states that are not participating in the free trade area to do so to enable them to participate in the Comesa Customs Union. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |