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Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki (left), Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (centre) and Djibouti's President Ismail Guelleh at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe for the Comesa summit on Sunday. Photo/PPS
Kenya’s President Kibaki on Sunday warned that trade in Eastern and Southern Africa was set to slow down due to the world financial crisis. He said majority of the member states of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) had reviewed downwards their economic growth targets.
However, President Kibaki told the Heads of State meeting in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls that the Sh1.2 trillion ($15 billion) regional bloc could mitigate the effects by increasing trade among member states and maintaining peace. “There is greater potential for promotion of intra-Comesa trade if we maintain peace and security in the region,” he said.
Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan and even Zimbabwe have had their share of shakiness in the recent past, thus undermining trade in the region. In addition, Kenya’s growth rate hit a low of 1.7 per cent last year following the post-election violence and high inflation, but it is expected to peak at 3 per cent by year-end.
The warning over tough economic times for the region came as President Kibaki handed over the leadership mantle of the regional trading bloc to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe’s economy has been in the woods for quite sometime due to political discord, but is slowly recovering after the impasse was resolved.
President Kibaki proposed that the Comesa secretariat should monitor the situation and advice member countries on how to respond to the biting recession. Nonetheless, he said he was optimistic that Comesa was well prepared to bounce back once the recession ends. The Comesa Fund for Development — a joint trade kitty in which 10 of the 19 member States contribute– is also seen as a safety valve against the crisis.
But even as President Kibaki looked up to the fund for infrastructural development, he tasked President Mugabe with the overall goal of expanding Comesa’s influence. A merger is being sought between Comesa, East Africa Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC) in order to widen the market.
Comesa’s Customs Union is expected to be operational in 2012 and thus allowing cross-border trade among member countries. “The Comesa Fund provides time bound budgetary support to those countries that may face temporary structural challenges during the transition period towards the Customs Union,” President Kibaki said.
He also noted the need for improved infrastructure in the region to aid in movement of goods across the region. “It is necessary that we focus on the bigger picture by simultaneously strengthening our relations with other regional blocs in Africa,” he added.
Source: Daily News