COMESA on new trade regulations
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa member
states have been urged to fully implement regional procurement
regulations in order for the region to benefit meaningfully from its
lucrative public procurement market and enhance private sector growth
and development.
According to the latest Comesa newsletter, this was stated among the
key resolutions at the end of a two day meeting of the Technical
Committee of Procurement Experts (TCPE) meeting in Ezulwini-
Swaziland, in July.
The meeting of experts underscored their commitment to encourage their
respective governments to foster targeted policies that will ensure
sourcing their public procurement needs from each other’s markets.
“The TCPE is composed of heads of national procurement agencies in the
respective member states which is charged with developing policies and
guiding the implementation of public procurement reform programmes in
the Comesa,” read part of the resolutions.
The committee noted Comesa member states collectively spend
enormous resources on public procurement requirements acquiring
different goods, services and construction works which, if they were properly focused, had the potential to spur private sector growth,
economic growth, enhance employment creation and increase revenue
proceeds.
“It was highlighted that the region had made encouraging progress in
reforming public procurement systems which has resulted in most member
states formulating modern and harmonised procurement systems.
“It was therefore critical that member states implement the enabling
provisions in their procurement laws by packaging procurement
requirements to attract the participation of the SMEs, especially for
the development and growth of the private sector in the region.”
Participants were reminded that Comesa had developed regional
procurement regulations to foster intra-regional trade and
investment by leveraging the procurement opportunities provided by the
extensive member states requirements in implementing public programmes
in infrastructure development, health, education, agriculture and
Information Technology sectors, among others.
The regional procurement regulations were adopted by the Comesa Council of Ministers in June 2009 in Victoria Falls.
The objective of the regulations is to promote harmonisation of public
procurement laws and practices for the enhancement of intra Comesa trade.
The meeting was attended by delegates from Burundi, Comoros,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Uganda, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Ends
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