peter
Business Editor
A COLLECTIVE response to the Covid-19 by regional member states with uniform standards would minimize the disruptions being experienced in the supply chain for essential goods.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) said this as it called on member states to stand together in bridging the gap between policy intentions and implementation outcomes.
Speaking during the first Extra-Ordinary Meeting of the Trade and Customs Committee of member states yesterday, Comesa secretary general Ms Chileshe Kapwepwe, said the gains achieved in strengthening market integration, investment and structural transformation were under threat, unless member states stand together and collectively respond to the crisis.
The meeting was convened by the Comesa Secretariat through video-conference and attended by over 80 trade and customs experts from the 21 member countries. Its sole agenda was to discuss proposed guidelines for the movement of goods and services across the Comesa region during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Kapwepwe said the draft guidelines have been developed to help consolidate and coordinate efforts to manage the situation and rally member states to conform to uniform standards to minimize disruptions in the supply chain for essential goods.
“The guidelines are meant to restore faith in the commitments we have made to co-operate in customs and border management, procedures, and activities through simplifying and harmonizing their trade documents and procedures as well as to abolish all,” she told the delegates.
Ms Kapwepwe also noted that the situation in the local economies was made worse by the fact that 80 percent of workers were employed in the informal sector. All of these segments of value chains from plants, logistics of distribution, to the role of shops and restaurants, have been disrupted, the gathering noted.
Ms Kapwepwe observed that the adoption of quarantine, social distancing, and restrictions of movement of persons, goods and services in the face of Covid-19 has directly resulted in production cut-downs, loss of jobs, shortage of food and other essential supplies.
“These measures require to beaccompanied by pro-poor policy interventions to address immediate challenges such as food insecurity, lack of water and sanitation low social protection and lack of social assistance for the vulnerable,” she added.
As such, Ms Kapwepwe said that the implementation of the Comesa Digital Trade Facilitation and other instruments and the liberalization of services remain core to strengthening the stability of the regional economy against prevailing shocks.
The draft guidelines will be presented to the meeting of the Comesa Intergovernmental Committee before they are adopted by the Council of Ministers in the next two weeks.
If adopted, they will open an opportunity for states to work together and institute measures to safeguard regional integration benefits while cushioning traders, businesses and the vulnerable groups.
Meanwhile, Ms Kapwepwe encouraged member states with comparative advantage in producing essential
products and protective gear for health workers to support the other countries without sufficient capacity.
She also urged the governments to put in place a clear strategy on how to cushion the private sector to support it during and after the pandemic as it has equally been hit hard.
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