COMESA express worry over low agro-production
By CYNTHIA MWALE
THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) says low agriculture productivity coupled with uncompetitive industrial output has not provided prospects to boost trade within or outside the region. Comesa assistant secretary general, Sindiso Ngwenya said that there was need to address the structural deficiencies and the high cost of doing business to achieve significant growth in intra-Comesa trade.
Mr Ngwenya was speaking in Lusaka yesterday when he officiated at the, Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Toolkit Zambia Awareness, workshop.
He said there was also need to improve business information access on products and services, financing and technology to make the region competitive, particularly in Zambia.
Mr Ngwenya said in a rapidly changing global economic environment, there was demand for Africa to move swiftly and strategically to achieve regional economic integration.
He noted that opening the Comesa’s immense economic potential would bring greater stability and improve the business climate hence provide growth for the business sector.
“I strongly believe that regional integration provides a key to unlocking our region’s vast economic potential and help raise the living standards of our people”, he said.
He said SMEToolkit provides an opportunity for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and businesses in Zambia, Comesa and Africa to compete with others in developed countries through effective uses of the toolkit software and online marketing among other things.
The workshop discussed some aspect of development Moneyweb such as lighting Africa Initiative, the Lighting Africa Development marketplace Grant Competition and Carbon finance programme.
The Zambia-Comesa SMEToolkit project partnership is a unique strategic partnership of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, Comesa and Elif Business Solution.
This is great. However, who are the millions of marketeers and subsistence farmers, who will make up the entrepreneurs who will make up the bulk of companies of the COMESA region, or any region.
ReplyDeleteSo why does the government never seem to rise above it's obsession with foreigners and foreign capital?
These are the people they should put front and center of their economic policies, and not be treated as some afterthought.