Comesa, EDF hailed for modernising trade

Ministry of Trade and Industry has commended the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the European Development Fund (EDF) for complementing government’s efforts to mordernise the country’s trade systems.

The ministry’s Principal Secretary Christina Zakeyu said this on Thursday in Lilongwe during the 11th EDF meeting and the fourth Project Steering Committee meetings.

She said the support provided by the regional bloc helped Malawi to launch the Mchinji-Mwami One-Stop-Border-Post, leading to faster processing and clearing of goods at the border.

She said: “The expedited clearing of goods at the border has helped to improve the volume of trade passing through the Mchinji Border Post.

“We have also bought and installed equipment for the smart gate, which is an automated border gate that does not need to be manned by a person.”

President Lazarus Chakwera and his Zambian counterpart Hakainde Hichilema launched the Mchinji-Mwami One-Stop-Border-Post in December last year.

The Malawi Government and the Comesa Secretariat in 2021 signed a 3.54 million euro (about K6.6 billion) deal that sub-delegated the implementation of coordinated border management activities under the broader Trade Facilitation Programme at the border.

In a separate interview, European Union (EU) rural development and trade sector team leader Matthias Reusing, whose organisation is providing financial support to African countries through Comesa, said modernising trade systems is the best way to spur development within the bloc and the wider Africa region.

He said: “Our approach to modernisation should focus on how we can digitise our systems to mitigate the effects caused by bureaucracies.

“With the one-stop border posts and digital certificate of origins, traders will not have to deal with relevant government agencies separately. It can be done once-off and that will be faster.”

Comesa assistant secretary general Mohamed Kadah said the meetings, which were also attended by representatives from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, helped the delegates to take stock of the progress made during the implementation of Comesa projects under the trade facilitation programme.

The EU has been providing financial support to Comesa member States and Tanzania through the Trade Facilitation Programme, a 53 million euro (about K100 billion) programme supported by the EU under the 11th EDF.