When President Mnangagwa assumed the chairmanship of COMESA in Harare on Thursday, he set out a principle that deserves to outlast the summit: regional integration must be judged by what it delivers, not by the declarations it produces.
He commended business leaders for recommendations that should guide an implementation roadmap and align regional policy with market needs. That is the right starting point. Businesses know the practical cost of delayed cargo, unreliable electricity, incompatible standards, expensive finance and permits that turn a short journey into a bureaucratic ordeal.
The question is whether governments are prepared to act on what businesses have told them.
COMESA’s 21 members possess substantial agricultural, mineral and manufacturing resources. Yet opportunities to process raw materials, build regional supply chains and create skilled jobs are constrained by fragmented markets.
A mineral extracted in one country should be capable of supporting factories in another. Agricultural produce should reach regional consumers without unnecessary delays or spoilage.
The private sector’s declaration at the Harare forum offered practical proposals: coordinated industrial policies, mutual recognition of standards, simpler border procedures, better transport corridors and easier access to finance for smaller enterprises. Those proposals deserve deadlines, responsible institutions and publicly measurable results, not another round of consultations.
Zimbabwe’s chairmanship provides an opportunity to press for that discipline. The COMESA Secretariat and member states should publish an implementation scorecard identifying which trade barriers have been removed, which border processes have been digitised and which regional infrastructure projects have advanced. Progress should be reviewed regularly and failures explained.
Businesses should be able to report persistent bottlenecks and see which agencies are accountable for resolving them.
Industrialisation also demands realism. Factories cannot compete on political enthusiasm alone. They require dependable power, transport, skilled workers, affordable credit and predictable rules.
Governments should resist policies that protect inefficient businesses at consumers’ expense while claiming to promote local production. Regional value chains will flourish only when investment can cross borders and firms can compete fairly.
Small traders, female entrepreneurs and young businesses must not be treated as an afterthought. Simplified customs arrangements, accessible payment systems and transparent product standards can make integration meaningful beyond large corporations. A common market that works only for well-connected companies is not truly inclusive.
President Mnangagwa’s reminder that a country is built by its own people carries a wider regional lesson: Africans must take responsibility for implementing the institutions and agreements they have created. But self-reliance should mean stronger cooperation and greater competitiveness, not retreat behind national barriers.
The President also acknowledged Kenyan President William Ruto’s contribution to digitisation and regional value chains. Continuity matters. Each successive chairmanship should build on measurable achievements rather than relaunch the same ambitions under a new slogan.
COMESA has no shortage of plans. The test of the Harare summit will be whether, a year from now, goods move faster, investment reaches factories and more citizens earn their living from productive regional trade. That would be leadership translated into results.
