Comesa Wants Non-trade Barriers Removed

By Eddyson Lugangwa Posted 23 November 2006 @ 03:14 pm EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

Nairobi (IBTimes.com) - Leaders of Africa's main trading bloc have called for elimination of non-tariff barriers and an end to conflicts that undermine trade within the 21-member grouping.

At the close of a two-day summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), leaders have told member states to adopt "good governance, amicable co-existence and use dialogue for conflict resolution".

In addition to the elimination of non-tariff barriers, key recommendations include creation of a tax band for products imported into the bloc and acceleration of a regional payment and compensation scheme before the end of 2007.

The bloc "urges member states to speedily draw a road map to eliminate non-tarrif barriers," according to a resolution statement by participants at the 11th Comesa summit in Djibouti. In addition, members should "formulate a strategy for regional industrialisation and for the promotion of co-operation between them," according to the statement.

It also called on the secretariat to accelerate the establishment of a Common Investment Area known as Comesa-CIA.

The continent's largest bloc was also planning to form a common customs market to be up and running by next year, but observers have said that those plans may be threatened by intra-state conflicts and regional tension among its members.

Key among the flash points was the volatile situation in the Democratic Republic of theCongo, where vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba rejected the results of presidential polls, won by the incumbent Joseph Kabila.

The Somali crisis, which has festered for nearly 16 years, threatened to escalate into a regional war that would suck in arch-foes Ethiopia and Eritrea, both of whom were accused of meddling in Somali affairs.

The crisis in Sudan's Darfur region, where at least 200 000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million others displaced since violence erupted more than three years ago, also poses risks to the envisioned economic integration.

Comesa "urges member states to carry out a detailed evaluation of conflicts in the region... including all the aspects of human security and policies to be taken".

It also called "the Sudanese people to continue to co-operate with the UN and AU in seeking peaceful and lasting solutions to the Darfur conflict" and called on feuding Somali leaders to embark on an all-inclusive negotiations to avert deeper crisis.

Comesa was founded in 1993 as an off-shoot of the Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA), envisaged as a free-trade zone encompassing all its members by 2000, evolving into a customs union by 2004 and a monetary union by 2025. But it has fallen short of its plans. The Comesa secretariat hoped that the creation of the customs union, if successful, will mark another milestone in efforts to restore stability by using trade and investments.

However, at the moment only 11 Comesa members participate in the free trade zone. At a June meeting in Kigali in 2005, the remaining 10 countries outside the zone were urged to join as soon as possible.

Comesa groups Angola, Burundi, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Kenya will host next year's summit.