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COMESA weekly newsletter eThis bulletin is published by the COMESA Secretariat Public Relations Unit but does not necessarily represent views of the Secretariat. For Feedback: pr@comesa.int

Contact Address : COMESA SECRETARIAT, COMESA Center , Ben Bella Road P.O. Box 30051, 260 1 229 725, 260 1 225 107

www.comesa.int; email: e-COMESA@comesa.int

Issue #: 419, 2nd July 2014

Sudan Minister for Justice Hon. Mohamed Dosa (R) hands over the Court Keys to Amb. Nagla El-Hussainy. (Below) Court Registrar Ms Nyambura Mbatia receives the keys form Amb. Nagla

The Government of Sudan has officially handed over the

newly built and furnished state of the art COMESA Court of Justice headquarters building in Khartoum.

The hand over, which took place on Thursday, 26 June 2014, was officiated over by the Sudan Justice Minister, Hon. Mohamed Dosa, and the COMESA Assistant Secretary General, Amb. Nagla El Hussainy.

Hon. Mohamed Dosa said that the construction of the Court was done to meet the highest international standards, and that the handing over of the Court facilities was in fulfillment of the promise made by to page 2

President Omar El-Bashir of Sudan at the Seventeenth COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit in Kinshasa in February this year.

“This will enable COMESA to achieve its goal of enforcing good governance in its regional integration efforts. Economic co-operation can only succeed in an environment of good governance and the rule of law and in this regard my Ministry will provide full support to the court in the discharge of its mandate,” the Justice Minister said.

He re-affirmed the Government of Sudan’s commitment to fulfilling its obligations under the Host

signed with COMESA to ensure the Court is facilitated to run smoothly in its new headquarters. This includes the provision of stipulated privileges for and accreditation of the Court judges and staff,” Hon. Mohamed Dosa added.

While receiving the keys, Amb.

Agreement of the Court and to work with them in publicizing its mandate, role and ways to access it by all stakeholders in the country and the region.

“The Government of Sudan will fulfill all obligations under the Agreement

Sudan hands over COMESA Court

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Nagla E-Hussainy thanked the Government of Sudan for the generous gesture which she said has raised the bar in the standard of COMESA institutions and organs based in Member States.

“It has been a long and not easy journey but the labour of the government which has invested a lot of money in such a magnificent building has not been in vain,” she said. “This historic occasion marks the realization of a permanent seat for the Court of Justice, which will enable it contribute more effectively to the regional integration agenda through provision of dispute resolution mechanism which will in turn instill more confidence to investors in the region.”

The Sudan Minister for Trade, Hon. Osman Alsharief, pledged support to the Court as the co-ordinating Minister for COMESA programmes in Sudan; and to ensure that his country effectively participates and benefit from all COMESA programmes.

“Conflicts are inevitable in any functioning trade regime and it is therefore imperative that the COMESA trade regime should have a strong and independent dispute resolution mechanism”, Hon. Osman Alsharief said.

The Court was built at a total cost of US $4.2 million out of which US $3.5 million went into construction of the court

The Republic of Madagascar has been declared as eligible to participate in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), again. The Act offers incentives for African countries to continue their efforts to open their economies and build free markets.

US President Barack Obama (above) made the proclamation in Washington on 26 June, 2014. This means that Madagascar will now have duty-free access to the US $3 trillion market for its products.

“Based on actions that the Government of Madagascar has taken, I have determined that Madagascar meets the eligibility requirements set forth in section 104 of the AGOA and section 502 of the 1974 Act, and I have decided to designate Madagascar as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country,” the Presidential Proclamation reads in part.

building while US $695,000 was spent on furnishings and communication equipment. All the costs were met by the Government of Sudan.

The three storied Court premises consist of two Court Chambers; Appellate and First Instance Court Chambers with modern furniture, information technology and interpretation equipment to cater for up to twelve languages. There are four chambers for the five appellate judges and six chambers for the seven judges of the Court of First Instance. All have their own consultation rooms and offices for Secretaries.

Other facilities include fully furnished offices for the Registrar, administrative staff and library. Three fully equipped kitchens with canteens are provided. Every Chamber and office is fitted with wall mounted Plasma TV screens including public spaces such as the reception, dining areas and boardrooms. There are two consultation rooms for counsel, four robbing rooms and a CCTV system among other fittings.

The handover of the premises paves way for the beginning of the relocation of the Court from its current temporary residence in Lusaka to its official permanent seat in Sudan. The ceremony was also addressed by Sudan’s Chief Justice, Dr Haidar Ahmed Dafa’alla.

Sudan hands over COMESA Court

This development has been welcomed by the COMESA Secretary General, Mr Sindiso Ngwenya, who has been working with both governments to ensure that Madagascar is reintegrated into the AGOA family.

Other COMESA Member States that are AGOA eligible are Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.

AGOA was signed in law on 18 May in 2000 as Title 1 of The Trade and Development Act of 2000 by the United States government. It is a US preferential trade programme aimed at supporting sub-Saharan African economic development through trade and investment. The programme offers incentives to sub-Saharan African countries for undertaking difficult political and economic reforms that promote long-term growth and development.

Madagascar is AGOA eligible

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Government of Uganda for providing good leadership for the climate smart agriculture agenda during the United Nations Negotiations on Climate Change.

“COMESA is to further provide resources for coordination of climate smart agriculture activities to Uganda, through the FAO,” Mr Miti added.

Preceding the launch of the project launch, the Government of Uganda celebrated the UN day to combat desertification, at Sekula Primary School in Budaka. The theme for the celebrations was: “Land Belongs to the Future – Let us Climate Proof It”; and conservation agriculture technologies were showcased. These included oxen-drawn

implements, and weed management techniques.

Other activities carried out to mark the day were: tree planting, and visits to famers and primary schools that are being supported by COMESA to set up demonstration farms on climate smart agriculture. Mr Henry Kabulo, a farmer in Bugiri District, who is implementing tree planting and conservation agriculture said that he previously he used to harvest 300 Kgs of maize but in the past season he harvested 900 Kgs of maize.

The COMESA project on enhancing adoption of climate smart agricultural practices in Uganda’s farming systems is aimed at enhancing productivity of land through sustainable management

Ugandan farmers embrace climate smart agricultureThe COMESA

supported climate smart agriculture

project has been launched in Uganda. The Member State flagged off the project on 18 June 2014 in Namutumba, a district in eastern Uganda.

“In the past decade we have experienced frequent and severe dry spells, unexpectedly high temperature, excessive heavy rains and hailstorms associated with associated with climate variability. But since we have developed the harmonised strategic investment framework for sustainable agriculture, the Government will now support one million farmers to access conservation agriculture technologies,’’ Prof. Zerubabel Nyiira, the State Minister of Agriculture informed the meeting.

He stressed the importance of ensuring the formulation of right policies and strategies on up-scaling climate smart agriculture and the necessary support for women’s participation. He reiterated the Ugandan Government’s commitment to enhancing climate smart agriculture, and sustainable agricultural practices in general.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Chikakula Miti, the COMESA Climate Change Coordinator who represented the Secretary General, congratulated the

of soil and water resources. It is being implemented in the districts of Bugiri, Busia, Budaka, Namutumba and Buyende. Specifically the project is putting in place measures to improve input supply, produce markets and for economic sustainability thorough climate smart agricultural enterprises. Further, support is being extended to research activities to generate baselines, monitoring and evaluation guidelines and national recommendations on climate smart agriculture technologies and practices.

The launch was attended by the senior government officials, local government officials, representatives of the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO), UNDP, and farmers.

From L to R: Mr C. Miti, Prof. Nyiira, State Minister of Agriculture; and Hon. Kataike Sarah Ndoboli, Minister of State for Luwero Triangle

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COMESA CAADP Coordinator Dr. Sam Kanyarukiga with AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agricul-ture Her Excellency Rhoda Peace Tumusiime at the Africa Agribusiness Forum, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

“Deeper engagement with the domestic private sector in Africa is critical to

harnessing opportunities in the agricultural sector, particularly the commodity value chains,” the African Agribusiness Forum has noted.

Held at the margins of the African Union (AU) Heads of State Summit on 22 June 2014 at the Sipopo Conference Centre in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, the Forum emphasized the need to unlock the potential of the domestic private sector in Africa as the catalyst for agriculture transformation.

“Currently the continent is experiencing increased population growth. Never before has Africa experienced such increased population growth. It requires increased food production by 40 percent given that by 2050, Africa will be number five in terms of population growth with the youth being in the majority,” the AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Her Excellency Rhoda Tumusiime said.

She added that inclusive growth requires active participation of the youth in agriculture; and the current small holder farmers, who are mainly retirees and above 50 years, might not bring the much needed change for increased productivity.

“The African Agribusiness Forum provides an opportunity for discussing concrete strategies for the realization of recommendations of the Joint Ministerial Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries and Aquaculture held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in April 2014, and it is here that

Private sector crucial to agri-business development

we have to forge a way forward,” Commissioner Tumusiime said.

The Chief Technical Advisor for AU CAADP, Mr Boaz Keizire said that while attention in the past has been on attracting global investment with limited attention to African investors, currently focus will be on mobilising domestic private sector investment.

“Inclusive growth requires addressing the exclusion of women, youth and small holder farmers in Africa’s agricultural transformation,” Mr Keizire said.Meanwhile, Ghana Private Enterprise Foundation Director General, Nana Osei Bonsu, said that CAADP implementation at national level presupposes the engagement of the domestic private sector, which should be a catalyst for bringing foreign private investment.

“There is need for the right tools and institutional framework for CAADP implementation at national level, and African governments need to prioritise local capital mobilisation for the domestic private sector to access on a long term basis to drive agricultural development,” Mr

Bonsu said.

“Agricultural investment requires long term capital and cuts across all sectors such as telecommunications, Information

Communication Technologies (ICTs), insurance and finance. All of these have to be mobilised primarily by the private sector,” he concluded.

COMESA was represented at the Forum by the CAADP Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator, Sam Kanyarukiga and Meebelo Nalishebo respectively; the Director for Gender and Social Affairs, Mrs Beatrice Hamusonde, among others.

The African Agribusiness Forum was held under the theme: “Transforming Africa’s agriculture for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods: Harnessing opportunities for inclusive growth and sustainable development”.

Trade experts at COMESA Secretariat took time off their schedule to interact with 60 grade nine pupils on 24 June 2014 in Lusaka and explained to them in great detail what COMESA does and the role of regional integration in bringing development.

Senior Trade officer Mr Tasara Muzorori and Trade Expert Mrs Helen Kenani (above) talked to the pupils about COMESA’s importance and urged them to take keen interest in regional integration issues at their young age.

The pupils, who expressed keen interest to learn about the organization, asked several questions

on how the organization operates, benefits of belonging to COMESA and how the Chair of the Authority is selected among many other interesting topics.

The officers explained that the 19 countries in COMESA have agreed to promote integration via trade and to develop human and natural resources for the advantage of their citizens who about 490 million in number.

The Secretariat usually hosts students from primary, secondary, University and other higher learning institutions who conduct educational tours to learn more about regional integration as spearheaded by COMESA.

Pupils visit COMESA Secretariat

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The President of the PTA Bank, Admassu Tadesse (c) signing the MoU with the Seychelles Principal Secretary for Finance Patrick Payet (R), and the Corporate Secretary and Director of Legal Services of the PTA Bank, Premchand Mungar (L).

Mr Admassu Tadesse (L) and Mrs Annie Vidot, Chief Executive Officer of the Development Bank of Seychelles.

Seychelles has signed an agreement with the Preferential Trade

Area (PTA) Bank with the intention of increasing its shares in the bank.

The signing took place at the Savoy Resort and Spa at Beau Vallon between the Principal Secretary for Finance Patrick Payet, the President of the PTA Bank Admassu Tadesse, and the Corporate Secretary and Director of Legal Services of the PTA Bank, Premchand Mungar.

The Seychelles government owns 0.5% shares in the PTA Bank and with the agreement it will have until 2018 to pay the US $4 million worth of shares (equivalent to 1.8 % shares) which will make a total of 2.3% shares for Seychelles.

“With the gradual increase of shares that we are having it will help us have a bigger voice or a bigger recommendation when our projects that we propose go before the PTA board. And we will also benefit in terms of dividend payouts,” Mr Payet said.

During the same event the Development Bank of Seychelles (DBS) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the PTA Bank to promote mutual understanding,

Seychelles to increase shares in PTA Bank

expand cooperation by enhancing opportunities for business development. The signing was done by the chief executive of DBS Annie Vidot and Mr Tadesse.

“I firmly believe that the signing of the MoU will further strengthen the mutual relationship that DBS has with the PTA Bank. The two banks have, on numerous occasions in the past, talked about such arrangement but nothing has been formalised until now. Staff of DBS can henceforth benefit from this top-end development finance institution in terms of capacity building and sharing of work experiences. The collaboration should also be hailed by the local business community, especially promoters of big investment projects that require financing beyond the capacity of DBS. Through

this MoU, co-financing cooperation will be possible between the two banks; and as the local partner of PTA Bank, DBS will be able to play a pivotal role in linking local businesses to regional capital markets,” Mrs Vidot said.

Mr Tadesse said that PTA Bank has done a considerable amount of work in Seychelles but is looking forward for much

more.

“The success of PTA Bank is largely due to its partnerships which extend beyond Africa and this includes private and public partnerships. Only institutions like the PTA Bank can bring the Japanese Financial Institutions and the People’s Bank of China together,” he said.

*Story adapted from the Seychelles

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