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Best Practices in Regional Integration in Africa 8 th Session of the Committee on Trade, Regional Cooperation and Integration 6 - 8 February 2013 Addis.

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Presentation on theme: "Best Practices in Regional Integration in Africa 8 th Session of the Committee on Trade, Regional Cooperation and Integration 6 - 8 February 2013 Addis."— Presentation transcript:

1 Best Practices in Regional Integration in Africa 8 th Session of the Committee on Trade, Regional Cooperation and Integration 6 - 8 February 2013 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia George M. Mugabe UNECA-RITD

2  Regional integration: a key strategy for advancing Africa’s socio-economic endeavors.  There is increased level of political will and commitment to establishing the AEC  Bottlenecks still hamper progress towards realizing the AEC Introduction

3 Any notable progress? Some best practices in regional integration in RECs are making the difference worth noting Notable progress in RECs where some best practices have been put in place

4  Elimination of tariffs  Under COMESA FTA, participating countries are now a zero tariff zone  85% of the total regional trade is from within the FTA  EAC member States are a duty- and quota-free trade regime (0% Tariff) since 2010  Trade has strengthened to over $ 2 billion since then Trade and Market Integration  Total exports within the EAC region are now running a close second to total EAC exports to the euro area (Trademark Southern Africa) Values in US $ Millions UNCTAD, 2011

5  Elimination of NTBs  COMESA, EAC and SADC are implementing an “ORM” Trade and Market Integration  Rwanda now has zero checkpoints from Rusumo border to Kigali Some Best Examples Any Progress Made?

6  Rules of Origin Certificates  COMESA is using a regional Rules of Origin (RoO) certificate.  It entitles cross-border traders to preferential trade under FTA.  Harmonized formulae for RoO. Rules of Origin

7  The Chirundu One Stop Border Post (OSBP)  Savings in time values as high as US $ 600,000/day  Clearing time has reduced from 3 days, to 6 hours and 1 day maximum. Trade Facilitation Measures More Examples?

8  COMESA CD is used as standardized document for customs transit traffic control.  The document caters for imports, exports, transit and warehousing  It said to have replaced on average 32 documents in some member States Trade Facilitation Measures  Simplification of documentation at customs check points: Cutting down Red Tape

9  Relaxation of visa requirements  COMESA is granting a 90- day visa upon arrival to all FTA members.  The same is true within ECOWAS. Free Movement of People Visa requirements are stringent in Africa  Rwanda, as of January 1, 2013, is issuing visa on arrival for all African nationals.

10  Travelling regionally and internationally is easy with ECOWAS regional Passport.  Expected to replace the national passports used by other member States.  CEMAC is also using a regional passport “CEMAC Passport” Free Movement of People Use of Regional Passports

11  Under the principle of reciprocity in AMU, Mauritania guarantees;  Freedom of establishment and capital investment,  Freedom to transfer foreign capital,  The ability to transfer the professional income of foreign employees and  Equal treatment of Mauritanians and foreign individuals, as well as of legal entities. Right of Establishment

12  COMESA is using the harmonized axle load limit to safeguard the roads against overloading. Transport and Communication  200 km of 240 km of Arusha- Namanga-Athi River Road is complete

13  Use of the Harmonized Consumer Price Index (HCPI) as a mechanism to harmonize inflation rate  COMESA is implementing the HCPI  Its based on a harmonized methodology and conceptual approaches across COMESA  SADC is also implementing its HCPI and reported and gazetted on monthly basis Macroeconomic Convergence

14  Institutional Monitoring Mechanisms for macroeconomic convergence integration  ECOWAS has set up an institutional framework for multilateral surveillance  It works closely with;  The West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), and  WAMI to promote the establishment of a second West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Macroeconomic Convergence

15 Payment Systems  Launched in 2007  It has over 10 million subscribers and  Over 2 million daily transactions  Over $ 415 million per month in P2P transactions in Kenya alone.  One-quarter of Kenya’s GDP flows through the mobile payment system.  Contributes annually to roughly 17 per cent of Kenyan GDP.

16 Way Forward  Recommend best practices be identified, reported on and shared at country, REC, and even continental level  Although bilateral agreements help to initiate momentum, but for RI initiatives to achieve the intended purposes, encourage agreements through multilateral arrangements

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