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Mugabe Heads Major Regional Body: Common Continental-wide Integration?
11 June 2009
Victoria Falls — PRESIDENT Mugabe has urged Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa member-states to invest their own capital in the development of the region to achieve continent-wide economic integration. In his acceptance speech after assuming the chairmanship of the 19-member bloc here yesterday, President Mugabe outlined the core areas that his leadership of Comesa would concentrate on over the next 12 months. These would be the development of infrastructure, human skills, the energy sector, water, transport and communications, among others. "As production requires not only raw materials but also capital, which includes human capital, we need to scale up the development of human skills, adapt and employ new technology and tackle the challenges to innovate and manage our productive enterprises. "In order to generate investment, we will also need to mobilise capital through the various options available to us. "In this respect, I would like to emphasise that we should accelerate the generation of our own capital as, in the long run, our own savings should be the main engine of our economic development," he said. The President said there was an urgent need to invest in transport and communication infrastructure, saying the present state of affairs was making African products less competitive on world markets. "At the moment, the cost of transport in our region is among the highest in the world, with the percentage of transport to landed value of imports ranging from 20 to 60 percent among various countries. "The cost of moving exports to ports is also prohibitive, rendering many of our products less competitive in our markets and in the rest of the world. "We need to spend resources on the development of infrastructure, namely our roads, railways, ports, telecommunications, power generation and transmission, and water systems." He added: "Let us set ourselves targets in this area, allocate resources, and commit ourselves to achieving those targets." He said Comesa's priority was to achieve a sustained rate of improvement in the living standards of the nearly 400 million people in the bloc. This, President Mugabe pointed out, could only be done through increased production and beneficiation of raw materials, and improved trade between members and the rest of the world. He, however, said there was need for greater integration and co-operation through the Comesa Customs Union. "Our regional economic integration programme will be realised fully only when we adopt measures which will generate harmonised economic, social, political and economic policies and programmes." President Mugabe said although the region had made significant progress in liberalising trade through the establishment of a Free Trade Area and now a Customs Union, challenges remained on the production front owing to capacity constraints. "We need to produce goods and services so that we can raise our incomes and purchasing power and thereby increase the volume of trade among ourselves. "We also need to add value to our exports, which have traditionally been primarily raw materials, and minerals, where the prices we receive are dismally low," he said. He said Comesa should harness its power potential through increased generation of hydroelectric, geothermal and solar alternatives, and the promotion of trade in energy through transitional transmission interconnectors. President Mugabe also said it was important for regional groupings to speak with one voice when negotiating with the rest of the world. "We should aim to co-ordinate and collectively negotiate at the World Trade Organisation and other multilateral forums . . . Together, we need to shape a new world order that fully benefits us, and in which we are equal partners that work for the good of all the people of the world. "We can no longer be observers or just protesters. We must be together at the decision-making table, and bring our full role to bear on all outcomes that shape the world we live in. "We should remain awake and poised to take on all the challenges of our times, whether it be energy, food, climate change, health crises or the reform of global governance," he said to applause from delegates to the summit. President Mugabe took over the chairmanship of Comesa, Africa's largest trading bloc, from his Kenyan counterpart, President Mwai Kibaki. Seven Heads of State and Government -- including President Mugabe -- are attending the 13th Comesa Summit that ends today with the presentation of the summit communiqué. Handing over the instruments of chairmanship to President Mugabe, President Kibaki said he was pleased with the progress Comesa had made under his leadership, while pledging the support of all members for Zimbabwe's tenure at the helm of the body. Swaziland's King Mswati III will be the vice chair of the bloc while Kenya assumes the office of rapportuer to monitor implementation and recommend solutions.
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