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THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) have officially launched a joint programme for the implementation of the cross-border trade initiative funded under the European Union (EU) development fund.
In May this year, Comesa and the EU signed an agreement for implementation of the Cross-Border Trade Initiative Programme at a cost of €13,4 million.
ITC executive director Ms Arancha Gonzalez and Comesa secretary general Ms Chileshe Kapwepwe launched the initiative in Lusaka, Monday on the sidelines of the World Export Development Forum (WEDF).
The programme will be implemented over a four-year period and has five key result areas, two of which have been delegated to the ITC for implementation. It seeks to address corruption, bribery and harassment experienced by small-scale traders during transit at borders as well as building capacity re-enforcement for cross-border traders associations (CBTAs) and similar business associations.
“We are committed to ensuring that we implement our assigned tasks that of reducing the bribery and corrupt activities at border points and also build capacity for the cross-border traders,” Ms Gonzalez said.
In the same vein Ms Kapwepwe said the cross border programme aims at increasing the formalisation of informal cross-border trade and enhancing trade flows leading to higher incomes for small-scale cross border traders.
“The programme will support the construction of border markets, cross border traders’ associations and address the challenges that small-scale traders face at the borders,” she said.
“It will also help in collecting trade data pertaining to small scale cross border trade.”
According to Comesa the beneficiaries of the programme would be small-scale traders, particularly women traders, who regularly cross the borders in the Comesa-EAC-Sadc region to sell and buy goods, as well as the associations, which represent them and defend their interests.
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