admin
Sifelani Tsiko
Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor
When the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union) was formed in 1963, intra–African trade was touted as a compelling opportunity to move away from reliance on exports of raw materials and develop the continent’s economies.
Today, it’s still seen as a major tool that could generate significant benefits for African economies.
And, the economic uncertainty in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic has forced African countries to also promote this as an effective recovery and resilience strategy.
Women’s participation in trade is critical in driving the African Continental Free Trade Area and separately the AU Protocol on Free Movement of People.
Recently, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in partnership with UN Women launched a booklet titled: “Understanding of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and how it relates to Zimbabwean Women in Trade.”
At the launch and dialogue event, women who participated brought out several issues that they face when engaging in cross-border trade.
Women in trade in Zimbabwe have high aspirations and want to increase their market or add more value to their products.
The AfCFTA agreement and the separate AU Protocol on Free Movement of People have the potential to generate significant benefits for informal cross-border women traders.
However, this potential in many African countries is not being realised because many are disregarding women’s informal trading activities.
To strengthen the women’s participation in inter-continental trade, AfCFTA in partnership with UN Women launched the booklet to facilitate information on opportunities and benefits provided by AfCFTA that women in trade can exploit and use, in pursuit of their business goals whether formally or informally.
UN Women country representative in Zimbabwe, Ms Delphine Serumaga, said it was important to empower women involved in cross-border trading and address gender-specific constraints which can help them alleviate poverty, contribute to food security and improve their livelihoods.
“Girls and young women represent a crucial labour force, they play a key role as producers of food, managers of natural resources, income earners, and main caregivers of their families and communities,” she said.
“Therefore, institutional recognition of this and ease of economic engagement by women or all ages is key for women’s development and Africa’s development.”
Women entrepreneurs engaged in cross border trade still face numerous barriers.
“As women we do not understand border controls and customs procedures. When you are at the border you do not know the customs clearance procedures — issues of rebates and duties,” said Idaishe Moyo, a young cross-border trader, who mainly sells goods imported from South Africa.
“At the border women are traumatised and subjected to various forms of abuse including sexual abuse. At times you travel inside vehicles carrying bodies and risks of contracting Covid are high.
“Profit margins are small and we spend a lot of money on paying bribes just to get our products into the country.”
Some women said they found it difficult to read and fill out forms needed for customs transactions.Others said they are sexually harassed by male officials and touts at the country’s borders.
On a daily basis, these traders leave their homes to cross into neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Mozambique to make a living trading goods.
“There are no fixed bus fare rates to South Africa. Bus operators can charge you any price. The buses are overloaded and as women we are prone to robberies, theft and accidents,” said a Harare woman who plies a clothing trade.
“It’s a risky business and I have been robbed and drugged while travelling to South Africa. The security situation of women cross-border traders has deteriorated. We are losing money and subjected to all forms of abuse. I now have a heart problem after I was attacked and drugged on the Harare–Beitbridge Highway.”
Conducting cross-border business is fraught with many problems for women.
“One of the biggest barriers that women face, besides the overall gender inequality in wealth and access to capital, surrounds the official process of crossing the border itself,” said Taurai Chinyere, a cross-border tupperware trader.
“Clearance procedures are complex and opaque. A general lack of information and presence of misinformation makes the whole process of crossing the border cumbersome and frustrating.
“We are not aware of SADC tariff exemption for certain goods and the amounts. Touts, customs officials and other border agents often dupe us. We are losing huge sums of money.”
Some women complained that poor border conditions for women cross-border traders made things unbearable for them.
They said border posts did not have adequate supply of hygienic water, sanitation and catering facilities.
This, they said, caused inconveniences and health risks to informal cross-border traders, particularly women.
The unhygienic situation of the water and sanitation facilities, the lack of hygienic catering facilities and the absence of adequate toilets, especially at border posts within the region was particularly of grave concern to them.
“Toilets or bathing facilities are often in an awful state. The improvement of infrastructure in this regard would be greatly welcomed,” said Chinyere.
Poor hygienic conditions and complex border procedures all hinder the smooth participation of women in trade and the potential for inclusive growth on inter African trade.
Filling in documents to border officials’ standards can be daunting and time-consuming for the women.
This often pushes them to use informal border-crossing routes, along the crocodile -infested Limpopo River, that are fraught with risks.
Since informal routes are not regulated by state agencies, women using these routes are more likely to experience harassment in the form of confiscation, bribes, and sexual harassment.
Women in business in Zimbabwe and most other countries in Africa often face numerous problems that include – high transaction costs and delays in the clearance of goods at border posts, corruption, insecurity, gender based violence, poor basic infrastructure and facilities.
In addition, they encounter problems such as weak trade associations, lack of access to productive resources such as land, finance and other assets, limited access to information and knowledge about trade and regional trade agreements and limited access to credit and collateral.
“Our intention and hope is that through the process of engaging with women in Zimbabwe and those in the private and public spaces of Zimbabwe, we will contribute greatly to increasing human capital and reducing poverty,” said Serumaga.
“Today is an opportunity to engage in establishing what the AfCFTA means for women in terms of their participation in trade and the contributions women can make in fostering the aim and objectives of the AfCFTA.”
Zimbabwe has made numerous strides in gender mainstreaming by signing and adopting a number of local and global protocols on gender.
All these seek to promote the inclusive participation of women in various sectors in line with Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 1.
“Women play a significant role in trade in Zimbabwe and the world over. To this end, my ministry will promote participation of women traders in the AfCFTA in order for them to promote intra- Africa trade and enable them to access markets, investment, finance, partnerships, amongst others,” said Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni, in a speech that was read on her behalf by Mrs Lillian Matsika–Takaendisa.
“This will promote regional integration which is the cornerstone of development in our continent.”
Online Reporter