Since the onset of Covid-19 in the region, COMESA and its institutions have been engaged in various initiatives to support Member States` governments responses to the pandemic at the regional level. Equally at the community level, the organization has been reaching out to vulnerable communities especially small-scale traders, with direct aid in the forms of…
Read more
The services sector accounts for more than half of COMESA’s GDP and over a third of employment, outpacing manufacturing and agriculture sectors in terms of growth generation, income and jobs. According to a report prepared by research experts at the COMESA Secretariat, the value added by services account on average to 52.5% of the Gross…
Read more
The African Union (AU), through the African Governance Architecture (AGA) Secretariat, in a joint project with the Common market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) have launched the “Democracy and Governance in Africa – Youth Innovation Challenge”. Youth innovators, innovation hubs and incubation centres across the continent, are invited to participate in the innovation challenge. The challenge calls…
Read more
British High Commissioner to Zambia, H.E Nicholas Woolley paid a courtesy call on the COMESA Secretary General Her Excellency Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, Thursday 25 June 2020. Their discussions centred on cooperation between the UK and COMESA trade, agriculture and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The High Commissioner said UK was keen to support COMESA programmes…
Read more
As the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to unfold in the region, countries implementing the COMESA Simplified Trade Regime (STR) are back on the drawing board to figure out how this successful model will be sustained. The COMESA-STR was introduced to simplify the procedure for clearing goods through Customs and to enable the small-scale…
Read more
COMESA will continue using eminent personalities from the region in addressing conflicts and entrenching good governance. Speaking when she addressed members of the COMESA Committee of Elders, Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe said the economic potential in the region can only be harnessed in an environment of peace and stability, hence the important role of the…
Read more
Madagascar recorded a 26% drop in imports in April compared to March 2020, according to a snapshot survey undertaken by the Statistics Unit at the Secretariat. The survey indicated that four key border posts, Antanimena, Tamatave-Pétrole, Ivato-Aéroport, Mamory-Aéroport recorded declines of 35%, 59%, 36% and 80% respectively. Tamatave-Port was the only one to record a…
Read more
Fifteen COMESA Member States are ready to start piloting the COMESA Electronic Certificate of Origin (eCO) System. The eCO is one of the latest tools developed under the COMESA Digital Free Trade Area (DFTA) initiative. Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have indicated their…
Read more
COMESA has engaged with the World Bank to extend the duration of the implementation period of the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation Project (GLTFP) by one year. The no-cost extension is expected to make up for lost implementation time during the Covid-19 restrictions on movement. The four-year GLTFP is poised to end in December this year…
Read more
The COMESA regional economy is projected to grow at a paltry 0.6% this year down from 5.2% recorded in 2019 and 6.0% in 2018. The slight dip in 2019 was attributed to lower commodity prices while the expected slump in 2020 will result from the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic suggesting a deeper economic…
Read more
