- HH urges COMESA to move beyond commitments on trade
CHOMBA MUSIKA,
CHISHALA MUSONDA
Lusaka,
Livingstone
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has challenged the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to move beyond commitments and “walk the talk” by adopting ambitious economic growth targets, increasing intra-regional trade and creating jobs for its growing population.
Mr Hichilema said member states needed to take practical steps to strengthen trade among themselves, mobilise domestic capital and invest collectively in production and value addition to unlock the region’s economic potential.
“We must be aggressive [in growing the economies], COMESA must be ambitious,” he said.
Speaking during the 25th COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit yesterday, held under the theme, “One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in COMESA,” Mr Hichilema said Africa needed to overcome its reluctance to trade internally and instead prioritise regional economic cooperation.
The President, who is the new COMESA vice chairperson, said although intra-regional trade figures appeared encouraging, member states could achieve much more by strengthening commercial relationships and supporting locally produced goods.
“The numbers appear good in terms of intra-COMESA transactions but we can do more, we can do better,” he said.
“Africa, it’s the continent that does the least business with itself, somewhat, we have this phobia of doing business with each other, even within our own countries.”
Mr Hichilema questioned why some Africans preferred foreign products while expecting their domestic economies to grow, arguing that sustainable development required countries to support their own producers and businesses.
“We are responsible for developing our countries, nobody will do it for us, they [other development partners] will follow us if we take the lead,” he said.
He said COMESA, with a population of almost 700 million people, had significant opportunities to expand trade in minerals and agricultural produce while promoting industrialisation and local value addition.
Mr Hichilema further called for the removal of trade barriers, faster movement of goods across borders, the introduction of one-stop border posts and the harmonisation of policies to reduce the cost of doing business. https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home