The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is convening a technical workshop on the Certificate of Origin (e-CoO) for implementing Member States, taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 3rd to 7th March 2025. The SADC e-CoO serves as an electronic document confirming that goods comply with the Rules of Origin under the SADC Protocol on Trade, facilitating trade among SADC Member States that have already migrated from manual to electronic processing those include; Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This initiative is supported by the European Union through the EU-SADC Trade Facilitation Programme and GIZ under the “Cooperation for the Enhancement of SADC Regional Economic Integration” (CESARE) Programme.
The workshop marks a significant advancement in enhancing intra-regional trade, following the e-CoO's launch in Blantyre, Malawi, in September 2022.
Mr. Alcides Monteiro, the Senior Programme Officer for Customs at the SADC Secretariat, emphasized the role of the workshop role in streamlining the SADC e-CoO implementation, supporting the consolidation of the Free Trade Area, and modernizing systems by transitioning from manual to electronic processes to leverage digital technology.
He highlighted the benefits of digital transformation in alignment with the SADC Vision 2025. The SADC e-Certificate of Origin supports the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap (2015-2063) and embraces the 4thIndustrial Revolution, which necessitates strategies to harness digital technologies like artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things to foster economic growth, improve infrastructure, and enhance quality of people’s life across Member States.
Mr. Monteiro commended the efforts by Member States in the development of the e-CoO which is aimed at improving trade within the SADC region and beyond, particularly recognising the efforts by the Republic of Zimbabwe for its achievements in finalising the e-CoO module. He urged participants to enhance efficiency in streamlining e-CoO processes, procedures, and integration.
The e-CoO concept is a modern trade facilitation tool, aims to replace manual certificates, which currently pose challenges in trade facilitation. The digital certificate has streamlined processes, reduced costs, and shortened processing times. It features a QR Code as a security measure, ensuring authenticity and facilitating scanning. It also offers opportunities for increased productivity, enhanced e-commerce, fraud reduction, improved record management, precise data collection, and ease of doing business, ultimately boosting competitiveness.
The workshop also aims to facilitate the integration of e-CoO systems among participating Member States. Currently, five SADC Member States namely; Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia are engaged in data exchange, while Zimbabwe has completed the e-CoO module development, marking a milestone in inter-regional trade.
By embracing digital transformation, SADC is poised to enhance regional economic integration, boosting trade efficiency and effectiveness, and paving the way for sustainable economic growth across the Southern Africa Region.
It is anticipated that all 13 SADC Member States participating in the Free Trade Area (FTA) will effectively implement the e-CoO within the next two years, in line with the SADC Regional Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030.
The workshop was attended by customs experts from SADC Member States, along with consultants in software development and IT specialists.
Regional integration in southern Africa is premised on various socio-economic sectors such as energy, water, information technology communication, transport, tourism and meteorology, underpinned by peace and security.
As the Southern African Development Community (SADC) prepares for its 44th annual summit scheduled for Zimbabwe on 17 August, this article looks at one of the sectors - water - and unpacks the central role of investing in water infrastructure to drive the regional industrialization agenda.
Industrialization has been identified as a top priority for southern Africa, and since 2014, all SADC summits have been held under a theme on industrialization with the 44th SADC Summit adopting the theme "Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development Towards an Industrialized SADC."
This year's theme is timely, as innovation is indeed needed in the water infrastructure sector to unlock industrial development in southern Africa because water is a fundamental resource for many industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, and energy production.
Furthermore, water is inextricably linked to the economy as it shapes the well-being and prosperity of communities that are the drivers of industrial development.
The region is home to at least 15 shared watercourses such as the Congo, Zambezi and the Limpopo which spans Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Water available in these watercourses is adequate to support industrial development in southern Africa including energy generation, tourism and trade.
However, infrastructural barriers prevent these water resources from reaching their full potential.
For example, the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) of 2012 notes that the region only retains about 14 percent of its available water resources, while the rest of the water goes back to the oceans.
This loss of water resources due to inefficiently deployed infrastructure means the region has limited access to its vast water resources.
In this regard, there is a need for SADC to put in place vibrant and efficient measures to develop and improve water infrastructure to ensure that the resource is fully harnessed and utilized for the benefit of its citizens.
The strategies could include the construction of dams to improve water storage. Dams are also critical in the generation of hydropower and cooling of thermal power stations.
Similarly, water can be used in irrigation for food production, while in manufacturing, water is essential for processes such as cooling as well as cleaning raw materials.
In fact, the development of water infrastructure in the region needs to be multi-purpose, and planned alongside other sectors such as agriculture, energy, and urban development to achieve the best outcomes.
Another important strategy in water development is to rehabilitate some of the aging water infrastructure in the region.
It is also critical to note that the major watercourses in SADC are shared by more than one country, so the region and individual Member States must adopt a regional approach in their water infrastructure development rather than an inward-looking approach.
For example, the construction of water infrastructure such as dams should not only aim to meet national needs but rather to resolve a regional challenge.
Furthermore, there must be a mechanism for the region to transfer water from the water-rich countries or basins to the water-stressed parts of the region to ensure a balanced industrial development.
One success story of transferring water from water-rich basins to water-scarce parts is the Kunene Water Supply Project, which provides water to dry areas in northern Namibia and southern Angola.
Another remedy to the water and energy challenge is the strengthening of inter-sectoral coordination.
For example, the management of water development in the region should not undermine energy supply or vice versa, because action in one area impacts on the other.
Therefore, as SADC Heads of State and Government meet in Harare for the 44th annual summit, water infrastructure development is likely to dominate the discussion since water is inextricably linked to the economy of the region.
Investment in water infrastructure will enhance productivity, stimulate economic growth, promote environmental sustainability, and improve public health.
Improved water infrastructure will also help to double the land that is under irrigation in the region, as well as halve the proportion of people without access to drinking water and proper sanitation.
Ultimately, by prioritizing water infrastructure, SADC will be able to create a solid foundation for sustainable industrial growth and long-term prosperity.
A vibrant water sector in SADC will ensure that water is used as a tool for peace and security, thereby allowing the people of the region to fully enjoy the benefits of belonging to a shared community in southern Africa.
Southern African News Features offers a reliable source of regional information and analysis on the Southern African Development Community, and is provided as a service to the SADC region.
Source: Southern Africa Research and Documentation Centre
Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Governor, Dr. Wilson Banda, says Malawi has about K2 trillion in pension funds that are readily available to be invested for infrastructural development and to transform the country.
Banda said this today in the commercial city during the launch of the Trustee Development Program, which aims to build the capacity of pension fund trustees for improved pension fund management.
"There is a lot of money that is currently sitting in pension funds--about K2 trillion. If you took that money and invested it in infrastructure development, it would make a lot of difference," said the RBM Governor.
He further stated that Malawi cannot only rely on foreign borrowing, which comes with risks like currency conversion, adding that it is better to use domestically generated resources like those in pension funds.
Taking his turn, consultant from Kenya College of Insurance, Dr. Ben Kajwang, indicated that most of the pension funds in the country are invested in Treasury bills and bonds, which are short-term in nature, saying even developed countries use pension funds for infrastructure
Figures from AHL Tobacco Sales show that as of last week, shows that Malawi has realized a total of $395.31 million from 132.8 million kilogrammes (kg) of tobacco at an average price of $2.95. Cumulatively, tobacco earnings are 40 percent higher than the $282.6 million realized during the 2023 selling season.
With Malawi requiring $250 million a month for its import needs, this year's earnings could be enough to keep the economy running for just over one-and-a-half months.
Tama Farmers Trust President Abiel Kalima Banda described this year's tobacco marketing season as successful.
Kalima Banda said tobacco growers saw better prices on the auction floors, something they had not experienced in the past five to six years.
This would motivate tobacco farmers to stick with the crop, despite the threats it faces, especially in the absence of suitable replacements.
Kalima Banda, however, bemoaned the delays in remittances of proceeds by buyers to growers. Meanwhile, TC says it has so far licensed 60.2 million kg of tobacco for the next growing season, almost triple the volumes licensed at the same time last year. As of August 2, last year, the TC had licensed 21.7 million kg.
TC Public Relations Officer Telephorus Chigwenembe said that, in terms of the number of licenses, TC had issued 12,778 as of Friday compared to 4,913 licenses by August 2 last year.
"The commission is impressed with the progress of the grower registration and licensing exercise, as the data show there is growing interest in the production of the crop in the 2024-25 farming season.
"TC believes the good prices offered to growers in the recently ended selling season have motivated many people to turn to tobacco or to increase their production volumes this year," he said.
TC aims to increase annual tobacco production in the country to 200 million kg by 2028.
In recent years, Malawi has struggled to meet trade demand for its tobacco.
"In the 2023-24 farming and selling season, the trade demand for Malawi tobacco was 190 million kilogrammes. However, under 140 million kilogrammes were sold.
"Looking at the trends, the commission is convinced that there is a significant market opportunity that Malawi must seize," Chigwenembe said.
In late 2023, Malawi took a significant step forward in its tobacco control measures by ratifying the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an international treaty designed to address the severe public health risks associated with tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.
A key aspect of implementing the FCTC is working with tobacco farmers on crop replacement and diversification, which also offers long-term economic, agricultural and health benefits.
In the meantime, implementation is in its infancy, with farmers hoping they will soon be able to divest themselves from the crop in favour of others.
Source: Nyasatimes
A Local Agro — processing company has joined the continent's trendsetters in technological innovations after introducing cutting-edge technology for processing and packaging beans for domestic and export markets.
Montgomery Processors (Monty's) managing director, Mr Liam Philp revealed this during the launch of the Horticultural Development Council's (HDC) first hub and spoke collaboration between his company and Central Association of Cooperative Union (CACU) recently.
The new technology, Tetra Recart, allows products traditionally sold in cans and bottles such as beans, vegetables and thick soups to be sterilized and stored in cartons that offer shelf stability for up to 24 months.
"Tetra Recart technology is the very first on the continent and we are very proud to be the innovators to bring it to Zimbabwe. This technology makes us competitive on prices, brings sustainability to the whole value chain, makes logistics efficient and uses less energy in recycling," said Mr Philp.
He added that the innovation allowed them to create a pull effect cascading to small-scale farmers who are poised to produce Michigan pea beans. Their strategy for the first six months is to specialise in understanding the local value chain while supplying the local market before starting exports, he added.
Mr Philp said Government was on point on the need to formalise growers' operations to build a track record leading to bankability and if this was accompanied by offtake arrangements with processors, it would create opportunities for primary producers to access funding from banks.
He said Monty's had signed the agreement with CACU to have adequate local supplies and save foreign currency from importing the product from Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa.
HDC commented that the partnership marked the beginning of an innovative out-grower scheme to support smallholder farmers.
"Through the partnership, smallholder farmers will benefit from an off-taker agreement to supply Michigan pea beans to Monty's. This cooperation is a cornerstone of the HDC's innovative hub and spoke model, which is implemented with support from the United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands and designed to integrate small-scale farmers into the agriculture value chain," said the HDC statement.
By connecting CACU farmers with Monty's, the model aims to boost farmers' incomes, enhance product quality, create jobs and support sustainable agriculture, added the statement.
CACU has already initiated a pilot programme to cultivate 10 hectares of Michigan pea beans and is actively recruiting farmers for this exciting opportunity.
HDC chief executive officer, Mrs Linda Nielsen commented: "This engagement marks a significant step forward in our mission to empower smallholder farmers for inclusive growth. By providing a stable market and technical support, we are helping farmers to thrive and contribute to the nation's agricultural growth."
CACU was registered in 1972 as an agricultural and marketing supply cooperative under the Cooperative Act and its core business is to produce, sell, distribute and market agricultural inputs and produce.
CACU chief executive officer Mrs Bertha Maziva said: "Today we are happy to sign a contract to grow the high value Michigan pea beans and look forward to increasing food and nutrition security for households in the country."
Source: The Herald
Page 2 of 44