1

COMESA weekly newsletter eThis bulletin is published by the COMESA Secretariat Corporate Communications 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, +260 211 229 725, +260 211 225 107

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

Issue #: 517_ 8th May 2017

AU HQ: Venue of the 18th COMESA Summit

to page 2

Regional Power Interconnector Study is Complete

described the project as a regional highway aimed at connecting the Southern African Power Pool and the East African Power Pools.

He added: “Existing gaps in data collection need to be fixed so that the feasibility study is completed to steer the project to financial closure.”

The ZTK interconnector is a high voltage power transmission line connecting Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya. It is a COMESA-SADC-EAC Tripartite Priority project as well as a NEPAD programme under the Programme for Infrastructure, Development in Africa (PIDA) and the Africa Power Vision which have been endorsed by the African Union Heads of State and Government Assembly.

During the meeting, Zambia and Kenya also gave updates on the ongoing construction works on some of the sections of the project; the Kenya – Tanzania

The ZTK power line in the Zambia section

The final draft report of the feasibility study for the 2,300km power line connecting Zambia

Tanzania and Kenya (ZTK) is expected to be ready by July this year. Consultants working on the study revealed during a progress review meeting recently that most of the work has been done and a report will soon be issued in order to push the project forward.

The meeting was organized by COMESA and the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in Livingstone, Zambia on 20th and 21st April 2017 for purposes of planning and to review the status of the project.

During the meeting, updates on the progress of the ongoing feasibility and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) studies were presented to the delegates. They comprised representatives of Ministries of Energy and Power Utilities from Kenya and Zambia and regional power pools.

Mobilization of financing for the remainder of the project will begin once the study report is done. To this effect, a financiers’ roundtable is planned for mid-August this year to be organized by the Office for Promoting Private Power Investment in collaboration with COMESA, NEPAD and the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme (NELSAP).

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Energy Economist at COMESA Secretariat Mr Malama Chileshe stressed the importance of the ZTK project in facilitating power trade thus making the region more competitive and ultimately deepening regional integration.“Given that the European Union financial support to the project is scheduled to expire by the end of this year, there is need for all parties to work hard and ensure that project timelines are met and deliverables achieved before September 2017,” Mr Chilese told the delegates.

NELSAP Regional Coordinator Eng. Elicad Nyabeeya

section was fully financed and construction works are ongoing.

On the Zambian side, construction of the 300km 330KV Kabwe – Pensulo section is expected to begin from 2018 at a cost of $132 million. The same will apply to the 200km 330KV Kasama- Nakonde section at a cost of $288 million.

Institutions represented at the meeting were the East African Power Pool, the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme (NELSAP) and the Southern African Power Pool. Development partners in attendance were the African Development Bank (AfBD), European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Union.

Due to the importance of gender mainstreaming, EU offered to finance the component of the study for gender mainstreaming if needed.

The founding father of the republic of Zambia Dr Kenneth Kaunda who is also one of the

founders of the present day COMESA celebrated his 93rd birthday, Friday 28 April 2017.COMESA was represented by the Secretary

KK @ 93: Tribute to the founding father of Zambia and COMESA

General Sindiso Ngwenya who paid glowing tribute to Dr Kaunda for his contribution to the emancipation of African States from colonial domination.

2

COMESA weekly newslettere

“We recall and salute with pride and joy your visionary contribution as the doyen of Pan Africanism, to the liberation of those countries in the continent that were under colonial rule and

Turkey and COMESA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote

industrial and technical cooperation. The MoU targets to boost business links between entrepreneurs in COMESA and Turkey through joint ventures, co-production and technology transfers.

The initiative will be facilitated through the

apartheid,” Ngwenya extolled the former Zambia leader.

“We further recall that soon after the

independence of Zambia you hosted the first ever meeting for the countries that were independent to establish the East and Central African Economic Community.”

“Your tireless efforts culminated in the establishment in 1982 of the Preferential Trade Area for the Eastern and Southern African States (PTA) which was a predecessor of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).”

“In congratulating you on your 93rd birthday, we salute the people of the Republic of Zambia under your leadership for the ultimate sacrifices they made with their lives and hosting the liberation movements that were based in Zambia.”

“Indeed this is an affirmation of your rallying call of ‘One Zambia One Nation’ which has inspired the ‘Africa We Want’ under the Agenda 2063 of the African Union,” he concluded.

KK @ 93: Tribute to the founding father ...

Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK).

Ambassador Kipyego Cheluget, COMESA Assistant Secretary General and Mr Ömert Cihad Vardan, the President of DEIK signed on behalf of their respective organizations. This was done on the sidelines of the First Turkey-Africa Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting and Agribusiness Forum that

took place in Antalya, Turkey from 27 to 28 April 2017.

Turkey has so far signed 38 bilateral agreements on commercial and economic cooperation in Africa as part of efforts to boost economic exchanges with the continent. Seventeen of those are bilateral agreements on investment promotion and protection, and eight bilateral agreements on the prevention of double taxation.The number of Turkish embassies in Africa has increased from 12 to 39 since 2009.

On trade volumes, Turkey-Africa trade increased fourfold from $5.47 billion in 2003 to $23.4 billion in 2014. Further, Turkish exports grew from $2.13 billion to $13.7 billion, while imports rose from $3.34 billion to $9.6 billion.

At the end of 2014, Turkish direct investment in the continent stood at over $6 billion. Turkish development aid to African countries was worth $772 million in 2012 and $783 million in 2013.

New pact set to spur trade ties between Turkey and COMESA

Ambassador Kipyego Cheluget and Mr Ömert Cihad Vardan signing the MoU

Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya presents tribute to Dr Kenneth Kaunda

3

COMESA weekly newsletter e

Experts from COMESA Secretariat and Heads of Bureaus of Standards from Kenya, Rwanda and

Uganda conducted a joint review of the COMESA Mutual Recognition Framework, an instrument meant to facilitate greater flexibility in trading of maize and maize products.

The review meeting held in Nairobi, on 2- 4 May 2017, as well discussed the draft COMESA Mutual Recognition Agreement (C-MRA) on conformity Assessment before its submission to the respective governments for signature. The signing will pave way for the implementation of the COMESA Mutual Recognition Framework (C-MRF).

The C-MRF was launched in December 2015 by six COMESA States which have significant maize trade namely Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. It was expected that by early 2016, they would have proceeded with negotiations for signature of the full MRA on conformity Assessment for trade in maize and maize products.However, there has been slow uptake of the C-MRF by the six countries.

C-MRF was developed after recognizing that regulatory impediments to intra-COMESA trade especially for grain and grain products continue to undermine efforts by regional states to reap the benefits of economic integration and grow their economies.

Regional trade in maize set to flourish

The C-MRF for trade in maize and maize products is meant to help where regulatory frameworks differ by reducing trading costs and lowering business compliance costs through mutual recognition of product standards and conformity assessment procedures.

The MRF stipulates a series of continuous activities as a means to verify and confirm on-going mutual trust and confidence amongst the participating member States and stakeholders.

mission to Burundi to commence preparations for the project documents under the 5th and 6th Call for Submissions. This was in addition to providing support to consultations for the preparation of the 8th Call for Submissions under RISM.

The meeting reviewed the document on the Advanced ASYCUDA World and E-Single Window project submitted by UNCTAD with a view of validating activities previously initiated under Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA). These are envisaged to be resumed and implemented under the COMESA funding.

The mission led by the Coordinator, Hope Situmbeko had technical-level meetings with various stakeholders expected to be involved in the implementation of the E-SW. They included;

COMESA Secretariat supports a capacity building programme in the six states to facilitate implementation of the C-MRF by ensuring they participate in the aflatoxin proficiency testing scheme to identify existing capacity gaps. This includes training and providing technical support to close the identified capacity gaps including, sample preparation, stability and homogeneity, maize grading, aflatoxin analysis and validation of testing methods among others.COMESA Secretariat is also facilitating negotiations for signing of the full MRA on conformity assessment for trade in maize and maize products between the six countries by end of this year.

the Director of IT and Customs, the Investment Promotion Agency (API), the Standards Body (BBN), Ministry of Health (Department of Pharmacy), Ministry of Health (Departments of Plant Protection and Veterinary Services).

“The focus in all the meetings was to establish the level of understanding of the E-SW; what had been achieved under the TMEA funding, equipment requirements, connectivity and offices to which the E-SW would be rolled out,” Mrs Situmbeko said.

Implementation of the project is expected to reduce the supply chain time from arrival to release cargo and cost of doing business. This is in addition to enhancing trade facilitation and regional integration.

..as states prepare to sign the Mutual Recognition Agreement

Training on maize sampling and testing conducted in Uganda during the launching of the COMESA Mutual Recognition Framework in 2015

The European Union has approved the request for COMESA to continue providing support

to Burundi through the Regional Integration Support Programme. The country is eligible for €860,000 and €440,000 provided under the 9th and 10th European Development Fund.

The support under the 9th EDF will be channeled to the implementation of the Advanced ASYCUDA World and E-Single Window project. With regard to the 10th EDF resources, the Government of Burundi had identified the proposed areas of support covering Standards, leather value chains and supporting the National Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee (NIMCC).

Last month, a COMESA RISM team undertook a

Burundi to Receive €1.3 Million for Regional Integration Projects

4

COMESA weekly newslettere

The Director of the CMI Mr. Ibrahim Zeidy officially opened the workshop and emphasized the need to develop capacity in modeling and forecasting especially for financial markets.

“Investors and portfolio managers have threshold levels of risk they can bear and at policy level.” Mr. Zeidy stated. “Financial market volatility and the associated volatility spillovers are a potential threat to financial stability and can potentially dampen prospects for economy-wide growth.” He noted that a good understanding of volatility and a robust forecast of the same over the asset holding period was a prerequisite for assessing risk levels associated with investment in a financial asset and also importantly, monetary policy makers rely on the estimates of volatility as a barometer for the vulnerability of financial markets and the economy.

The Director said; “The manual on modelling and forecasting volatility in a multivariate framework is intended to provide step by step guide to central banks modellers to enable them adequately measure and forecast both direct and spill-over effects due to volatility in prices of financial market assets.” He added that the resulting rigorous and robust volatility analysis should enable decision makers to undertake measures to mitigate the adverse effects of financial markets uncertainty.

Manual on modelling and forecasting volatility in financial markets validatedCOMESA Monetary Institute has developed

a manual for modelling and forecasting volatility in financial markets. The manual which has now been validated will serve as a knowledge product to provide member States’ Central Banks with an analytical guide in modeling and forecasting volatility in financial markets within a multivariate framework. The development of the manual follows a decision by the COMESA Committee of Governors of Central Banks during their 22nd meeting held in Bujumbura, Burundi in March, 2017. Delegates from Burundi, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe reviewed and provided feedback on the manual during a validation workshop organized by the COMESA Monetary Institute in Nairobi from 24th to 28th April, 2017.

Mr. Ibrahim Zeidy

Investors and portfolio managers have threshold levels of risk they can bear and at policy level.” Mr. Zeidy stated. “Financial market volatility and the associated volatility spillovers are a potential threat to financial stability and can potentially dampen prospects for economy-wide growth.”

“