Outgoing Comesa chairman, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, with with his successor, President Robert Mugabe. Analysts fear Comesa could be turned into a dictators’ club with Mugabe at the helm. Picture: Kitsepile Nyathi
The presence of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and ousted Madagascar leader Marc Ravalomanana overshadowed what was otherwise a fruitful Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa summit in Zimbabwe.
Besides discussing pressing but controversial political hotspots, the summit in the Zimbabwe resort town of Victoria Falls witnessed the launch of a Customs Union for the 19 Comesa member states.
Under the new dispensation, member states will impose the same tariffs on goods from outside the region; in addition, there will be a range of tariffs from zero to 25 per cent applying to different categories of goods and services.
Raw materials and capital goods such as machinery will be traded within the region without tariffs while intermediate products will be taxed at 10 per cent and finished goods at 25 per cent.
The launch of the Customs Union, which was delayed twice because of Zimbabwe’s political turmoil, and to allow for more time for negotiations on the harmonisation of tariffs, was a major economic victory for a region that is home to some of Africa’s worst conflicts.
But analysts warn the Customs Union and the new development initiatives were off to a bad start in the hands of Zimbabwean strongman President Robert Mugabe who took over as chairman of the bloc from Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki.
They fear that for the next 12 months, Comesa could be turned into a dictators’ club with Mugabe at the helm.
The 85-year old leader, whose country is emerging from a decade of international isolation, did little to allay the fears when he invited Bashir, who defied an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity to seek the solidarity of his peers.
The last time Mugabe was in charge of a major regional bloc — a political organ of the Southern African Development Community — nearly 10 years ago, he dragged almost half of Comesa member states into a bloody DRC conflict.
“If you look at the communique, you will realise that the discussions focused on politics rather than trade,” said Enock Matshazi, an investment analyst.
The bloc has been working on having a Customs Union as a follow up to a Free Trade Area launched in 2000.
But only 14 countries have been participating in the FTA, which has seen intraregional trade levels growing from $3 million at the time of the launch to over $9 million at the end of last year.
This trade is mainly in goods produced in FTA participating countries and does not attract duty among members who are signed up.
A Zimbabwean economist, Andr-ew Chirewo, said the bloc appeared unready for the Customs Union given that some countries including Ethiopia, DRC, Seychelles, Swaziland and Uganda were yet to confirm membership since they were not participating in the FTA.
Moreover, intra-Comesa trade has generally been very low, averaging just five per cent of that in 2007, he told Zimbabwe’s Independent newspaper.
Comesa is also eyeing a common currency but economists caution that it should only be introduced when intra-member economic disparities have been minimised.
Most of the countries have lifted visa restrictions on travel within the bloc, which analysts say points to a commitment to achieve regional integration.
Comesa consists of Burundi, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The region is home to 400 million people, with a combined gross domestic product of $360 billion — making it Africa’s biggest trading bloc.
