Transcript Best Practices in Regional Integration in Africa

Best Practices in Regional Integration in Africa
George M. Mugabe
UNECA-RITD
8th Session of the Committee on Trade, Regional Cooperation and Integration
6 - 8 February 2013
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Introduction
 Regional integration: a key strategy for advancing Africa’s socio-economic endeavors.
 There is increased level of political will and commitment to establishing the AEC
 Bottlenecks still hamper progress towards realizing the AEC
Any notable progress?
Some best practices in
regional integration in
RECs are making the
difference worth noting
Trade and Market Integration
Values in US $
Millions
Intra-Regional Trade
 Elimination of tariffs
 Under COMESA FTA,
participating countries are
now a zero tariff zone
8000
7,189
7000
6,067
6000
5000
4,889
COMESA
4000
EAC
3000
2,388
2,590
1,902
2000
1000
0
2009
2010
 85% of the total regional
trade is from within the FTA
2011
 EAC member States are a
duty- and quota-free trade
regime (0% Tariff) since
2010
UNCTAD, 2011
 Total exports within the EAC region are now running a  Trade has strengthened to
over $ 2 billion since then
close second to total EAC exports to the euro area
(Trademark Southern Africa)
Trade and Market Integration
 Elimination of NTBs
 COMESA, EAC and SADC are implementing an
“ORM”
Any Progress Made?
Some Best Examples
 Rwanda now has zero checkpoints
from Rusumo border to Kigali
Rules of Origin
 Rules of Origin Certificates
 COMESA is using a regional Rules of Origin
(RoO) certificate.
 It entitles cross-border traders to
preferential trade under FTA.
 Harmonized formulae for RoO.
Trade Facilitation Measures
 The Chirundu One Stop Border Post (OSBP)
 Savings in time values as high as US $ 600,000/day
 Clearing time has reduced from 3 days, to 6 hours and
1 day maximum.
More Examples?
Trade Facilitation Measures
 Simplification of documentation at customs check points: Cutting down Red Tape
 COMESA CD is used as standardized document
for customs transit traffic control.
 The document caters for imports, exports,
transit and warehousing
 It said to have replaced on average 32
documents in some member States
Free Movement of People
Visa
requirements
are stringent
in Africa
 Relaxation of visa
requirements
 COMESA is granting a 90day visa upon arrival to
all FTA members.
 The same is true within
ECOWAS.
 Rwanda, as of January
1, 2013, is issuing visa
on arrival for all
African nationals.
Free Movement of People
 Travelling regionally and
internationally is easy with
ECOWAS regional Passport.
Use of Regional
Passports
 Expected to replace the
national passports used by
other member States.
 CEMAC is also using a
regional passport “CEMAC
Passport”
Right of Establishment
 Under the principle of reciprocity in AMU, Mauritania guarantees;
 Freedom of establishment and capital investment,
 Freedom to transfer foreign capital,
 The ability to transfer the professional income of foreign employees and
 Equal treatment of Mauritanians and foreign individuals, as well as of legal entities.
Transport and Communication
 COMESA is using the harmonized axle load
limit to safeguard the roads against
overloading.
 200 km of 240 km of ArushaNamanga-Athi River Road is
complete
Macroeconomic Convergence
 Use of the Harmonized Consumer Price Index
(HCPI) as a mechanism to harmonize inflation
rate
 COMESA is implementing the HCPI
 Its based on a harmonized methodology and
conceptual approaches across COMESA
 SADC is also implementing its HCPI and reported
and gazetted on monthly basis
Macroeconomic Convergence
 Institutional Monitoring Mechanisms for macroeconomic
convergence integration
 ECOWAS has set up an institutional framework for multilateral
surveillance
 It works closely with;
 The West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), and
 WAMI to promote the establishment of a second West African
Monetary Zone (WAMZ)
Payment Systems
 Launched in 2007
 It has over 10 million
subscribers and
 One-quarter of Kenya’s
GDP flows through the
mobile payment system.
 Over 2 million daily
transactions
 Over $ 415 million per
month in P2P
transactions in Kenya
alone.
 Contributes annually to
roughly 17 per cent of
Kenyan GDP.
 Recommend best practices be identified,
reported on and shared at country, REC, and
even continental level
 Although bilateral agreements help to initiate
momentum, but for RI initiatives to achieve the
intended purposes, encourage agreements
through multilateral arrangements
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