Kampala summit agrees on trade area
Oct 23, 2008
THE tripartite summit has agreed on the expeditious establishment of a free trade bloc and a single customs union, stretching from South Africa to Egypt and from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Kenya.
By Henry Mukasa
and Anne Mugisa
THE tripartite summit has agreed on the expeditious establishment of a free trade bloc and a single customs union, stretching from South Africa to Egypt and from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Kenya.
This was the conclusion of the first meeting ever of the three regional blocs of eastern and southern Africa, COMESA, SADC and the East African Community, which ended in Kampala yesterday.
The summit directed the three regional blocks to come up with a roadmap for the free trade area within six months, a legal framework and measures to facilitate the movement of business people.
A tripartite Council of Ministers will convene in one year to determine the time-frame for the free trade zone.
The summit further directed the chairpersons of the Councils of Ministers in the three blocs to speed up development of joint financial systems, capital markets and commodity exchanges.
It also directed them to ensure that their secretariats harmonise positions on economic partnership agreements, including the World Trade Organisation.
According to the joint communique, the three blocs will have a single airspace within a year and an inter-regional broadband network for Internet.
The three communities also resolved to coordinate their master plans for regional transport and energy within 12 months.
The heads of state who attended the Munyonyo meet were Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Burundi Vice-President Gabriel Ntisezerana.
The other countries sent senior ministers. Also present were representatives from the African Development Bank and IGAD.
During the opening ceremony, the leaders called for faster integration, political unity and a single army.
“This is a historic meeting because the greatest enemy of Africa, the greatest source of weakness, has been disunity and a low level of political and economic integration,†President Yoweri Museveni said. He lamented that while movement in Africa was still hampered by poor infrastructure, other countries were launching satellites into space.
He caused laughter when he said with so many satellites around, it would be difficult for him to hide in the bush as he did when he was still a guerrilla fighter.
“The overwhelming military superiority of external powers as opposed to Africa’s continued fragmentation is a strategic threat to the future of the African people. We need a joint army to protect the people who live here,†Museveni urged.
Kagame described the meeting as a milestone in the road map to integration of the three communities. He urged the delegates to act faster in implementing adopted treaties.
“For example, we know the effects of non-tariff barriers in hindering the expansion of trade. Removing these obstacles does not necessarily require a great deal of financial resources but political will.â€
The Rwandan leader said the integration would produce losers and winners initially, a consequence of differences in productivity and economic strengths.
He, therefore, called for compensation mechanisms to provide the least prepared member states with time to “execute mitigating strategies against initial shocksâ€.
The new South African President welcomed the idea of a merger. “The process we launch today will place us in a stronger position to respond effectively to intensifying global economic competition,†Motlanthe noted.
He warned that while African countries had marginal influence over decisions that brought the international financial markets to the brink of collapse, “unjustifiably, the poor and vulnerable of these countries will bear the brunt of the economic downturn.â€
Kibaki said the summit heralded the start of an “unprecedented process of great significanceâ€. “This summit is truly historic. Any decisions we make are bound to have an effect on the rest of the continent,†the Kenyan president said.
Kikwete called the summit long overdue.
“We are gathered here for a landmark meeting for a landmark decision. Let us rise to the expectations of our people.â€
Kikwete said a customs union would help member states charge a common external tariff.
and Anne Mugisa
THE tripartite summit has agreed on the expeditious establishment of a free trade bloc and a single customs union, stretching from South Africa to Egypt and from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Kenya.
This was the conclusion of the first meeting ever of the three regional blocs of eastern and southern Africa, COMESA, SADC and the East African Community, which ended in Kampala yesterday.
The summit directed the three regional blocks to come up with a roadmap for the free trade area within six months, a legal framework and measures to facilitate the movement of business people.
A tripartite Council of Ministers will convene in one year to determine the time-frame for the free trade zone.
The summit further directed the chairpersons of the Councils of Ministers in the three blocs to speed up development of joint financial systems, capital markets and commodity exchanges.
It also directed them to ensure that their secretariats harmonise positions on economic partnership agreements, including the World Trade Organisation.
According to the joint communique, the three blocs will have a single airspace within a year and an inter-regional broadband network for Internet.
The three communities also resolved to coordinate their master plans for regional transport and energy within 12 months.
The heads of state who attended the Munyonyo meet were Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Burundi Vice-President Gabriel Ntisezerana.
The other countries sent senior ministers. Also present were representatives from the African Development Bank and IGAD.
During the opening ceremony, the leaders called for faster integration, political unity and a single army.
“This is a historic meeting because the greatest enemy of Africa, the greatest source of weakness, has been disunity and a low level of political and economic integration,†President Yoweri Museveni said. He lamented that while movement in Africa was still hampered by poor infrastructure, other countries were launching satellites into space.
He caused laughter when he said with so many satellites around, it would be difficult for him to hide in the bush as he did when he was still a guerrilla fighter.
“The overwhelming military superiority of external powers as opposed to Africa’s continued fragmentation is a strategic threat to the future of the African people. We need a joint army to protect the people who live here,†Museveni urged.
Kagame described the meeting as a milestone in the road map to integration of the three communities. He urged the delegates to act faster in implementing adopted treaties.
“For example, we know the effects of non-tariff barriers in hindering the expansion of trade. Removing these obstacles does not necessarily require a great deal of financial resources but political will.â€
The Rwandan leader said the integration would produce losers and winners initially, a consequence of differences in productivity and economic strengths.
He, therefore, called for compensation mechanisms to provide the least prepared member states with time to “execute mitigating strategies against initial shocksâ€.
The new South African President welcomed the idea of a merger. “The process we launch today will place us in a stronger position to respond effectively to intensifying global economic competition,†Motlanthe noted.
He warned that while African countries had marginal influence over decisions that brought the international financial markets to the brink of collapse, “unjustifiably, the poor and vulnerable of these countries will bear the brunt of the economic downturn.â€
Kibaki said the summit heralded the start of an “unprecedented process of great significanceâ€. “This summit is truly historic. Any decisions we make are bound to have an effect on the rest of the continent,†the Kenyan president said.
Kikwete called the summit long overdue.
“We are gathered here for a landmark meeting for a landmark decision. Let us rise to the expectations of our people.â€
Kikwete said a customs union would help member states charge a common external tariff.