Africa's key trade blocs set for merger
JOHANNESBURG - Heads of State and Government have begun a meeting in South Africa seeking to merge three of Africa’s key economic blocs.
Member countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the East African Community (EAC), on Sunday launched negotiations towards the establishment of a Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFRA) comprising the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
The leaders of the member states of the three communities who are meeting in Johannesburg are expected to discuss and set time frames for their secretariats to harmonise policies and programmes of the three RECs in the areas of trade, customs and infrastructure development.
Spanning the continent from Cape Town to Cairo, the Tripartite FTA will encompass 26 countries with a combined Gross Domestic Product of US$ 624 billion and a combined population of 527 million people.
The establishment of a Tripartite Free Trade Area is expected to unleash the enormous economic potential of three RECs while marking a historical milestone in the integration of the continent.
Integration
Speaking during the launch of the negotiations, Kenya’s President Kibaki said infrastructural development is a key component to the process of regional integration.
Noting that countries with advanced levels of market integration, traded heavily more among themselves, President Kibaki said it is important to acknowledge that the 26 member states of the three RECs continue to experience low trade between them due to untapped economic potential.
“In other parts of the world, countries with advanced levels of market integration trade more among themselves; produce more goods and services and have well developed infrastructure. This leads to high economic growth and development as well as better living standards for the people,” said the President.
He recalled that during the first Tripartite Summit held two years ago in Kampala, Uganda, the Tripartite Task Force of the three Regional Economic Communities was directed to coordinate and harmonise transport and energy master plans and also develop joint financing and implementation mechanisms for infrastructure.
In this regard, President Kibaki said it was encouraging to learn that notable progress has been achieved in implementing the directives.
He, therefore, called upon all stakeholders to ensure that timeliness for the key activities relating to the negotiations were adhered to.
President Kibaki noted that the desire of regional leaders to attain a Tripartite Free Trade Area is a major statement of their determination to radically transform their economies and the lives of their people.
He Kibaki reiterated the need to fast track the merger of the three Regional Economic Communities by developing a roadmap for the implementation process.
The negotiations on the Tripartite Free Trade Area is a strategic response to the African Union objective to rationalize and consolidate existing regional economic communities, with a view to achieving a common market covering the African continent.
The three Regional Economic Communities are among the building blocs of the African Economic Community (AEC) recognized by the African Union Constitutive Act and the Abuja Treaty.
President Kibaki is in South Africa accompanied by Cabinet Ministers Prof George Saitoti, Franklin Bett, Amos Kimunya, Chirau Ali Mwakwere and Prof Hellen Sambili and legislators Eugene Wamalwa and Kiema Kilonzo.
