By Kingsley Jassi:
A meeting of central bank governors and finance experts from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) region has highlighted logistical and payment system bottlenecks that are hindering intra-regional trade.
Countries such as Malawi find it hard to have citizens and businesses utilise commercial opportunities within the bloc, which has an economic size worth $1.1 trillion, as efforts are underway to clear the way for ease of doing business.
The Comesa Economic Symposium, which was held in Lilongwe on Thursday, centred on policy coordination for macroeconomic stability, financial sector development as well as modernising cross-border payment integration across the region.
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Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamveka rued the high cost of trade and payments within the region, challenging the gathering to find solutions and unlock regional economic potential.
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“In the face of geopolitical tensions, disruptions to global supply chains and heightened economic uncertainties continue to test the resilience of our economies,” Mwanamvekha said.
He said as countries pursue ambitious development paths that require increased investment, higher productivity, economic diversification and deeper regional trade and financial integration, there was a need to clear the way by addressing specific issues that stand in the way.
Some regional solutions underway include the establishment of a Regional Payment and Settlement System (REPSS), which is touted to have the potential of easing cross-border payment while reducing cost and allowing local currency use for cross-border trade.
Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor George Partridge said external shocks could not be addressed by the affected country alone but as a bloc, hence the need to have policy convergence to enable the region to tackle issues in unison.
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Comesa Assistant Secretary General for Administration and Finance, Lev Haman, has since called on member states to embrace the regional policy integration agenda by ratifying and operationalising protocols that are premised on strengthening regional economies.
