REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE CONFERENCE OF AFRICAN MINISTERS IN CHARGE OF INTEGRATION (COMAI)

Transcription

1 AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Sixteenth Ordinary Session January 2010 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia UNIÃO AFRICANA Addis Ababa, Ethiopia P. O. Box 3243 Telephone: Fax: Website: www. Africa-union.org EX.CL/572(XVI) REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE CONFERENCE OF AFRICAN MINISTERS IN CHARGE OF INTEGRATION (COMAI)

2 Page 1 REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE CONFERENCE OF AFRICAN MINISTERS IN CHARGE OF INTEGRATION (COMAI) SUMMARY 1. The Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the pillars of the African Economic Community (AEC) established by the Abuja Treaty, have made noteworthy progress in various domains since their inception. For some RECs, the pace of programme implementation is still slow and requires support from the different stakeholders in the area of integration. However, in spite of the initiatives taken at regional and continental levels, there is still a lot to be done, particularly in the implementation of COMAI recommendations. 2. At the various COMAI sessions, African Ministers in charge of Integration adopted important recommendations which were endorsed by sessions of the Assembly of the African Union. Concerning the implementation of the recommendations of COMAI IV, the African Union Commission (AUC) prepared draft terms of reference for the feasibility study on the establishment of a Continental Fund for financing the Minimum Integration Programme (MIP), began organizing sectoral MIP meetings and is in the process of considering the draft study on the quantification of scenarios for the rationalization of RECs, for submission to COMAI V. 3. However, it should be noted that some decisions of COMAI IV, as well as those of previous sessions, are yet to be implemented. In that regard, the major recommendations that have not been implemented are those concerning: i) Free movement of persons; ii) The call on the Heads of State and Government of the African Union to devote one of the ordinary sessions of their Assembly, as may be necessary, exclusively to integration and development issues; iii) Inclusion of Ministers in charge of Integration in the delegations of Member States to sessions of the Assembly of the Union; and iv) Regular consultations between the Chairpersons of the RECs and the Chairperson of the Union.

3 Page 2 Report of the Current Chairperson of the Conference of African Ministers in charge of Integration (COMAI) Introduction 1. The First Conference of African Ministers in charge of Integration (COMAI I) was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 30 to 31 March 2006, to consider, at the request of Heads of State and Government, the ways and means of rationalizing the activities and programmes of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs). 2. On the recommendation of the Ministers, by its Decisions Assembly/AU/Dec.112 (VII) and Assembly/AU/Dec.113 (VII), the Seventh Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, held in Banjul, The Gambia, in July 2006, requested the African Union Commission to conduct a study on the rationalization of the RECs as well as on the costs and benefits of the rationalization scenarios proposed to the Ministers in Ouagadougou by the Commission, and decided on the institutionalization of COMAI. 3. The first study was prepared by the Commission and submitted for consideration at COMAI II, which was held in Kigali, Rwanda, in July 2007; while the second, which is at an advanced stage, took into consideration the tripartite experiment initiated in October 2008 by COMESA, SADC and the EAC, and is awaiting validation by the experts of Member States and RECs before submission to COMAI V, scheduled to be held in Tripoli, the Great Socialist People s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, in May It should also be recalled that COMAI III held in Abidjan, Côte d Ivoire, in May 2008, agreed on important recommendations including that on visa exemption for citizens of Member States who are holders of African diplomatic passports. 5. The Fourth Session of COMAI was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in May 2009, and, among other things, recommended that the visa exemption requested for African diplomats, should at a later stage, be extended to all citizens of the Continent, and that measures should be taken by Member States to improve the security features of their travel documents. It also adopted a Minimum Integration Programme (MIP) elaborated by the Commission in close collaboration with the RECs. 6. This report is meant to provide an overview of the status of integration of the eight RECs recognized by the African Union, and take stock of the implementation of recent decisions of the Assembly of the Union in the area of integration. I. Overview of the status of integration in Africa 7. The Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the pillars of the African Economic Community (AEC) established by the Abuja Treaty, have made noteworthy progress in various domains since their inception. For some RECs, the pace of programme implementation is still slow and requires support from the integration stakeholders.

4 Page 3 8. Indeed, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Community of Sahel- Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), have reached the stage of Free Trade Area, while the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is at the stage of coordination and harmonization of activities between its Member States. The East African Community (EAC) attained the Customs Union stage in January 2005 and launched its common market in November Likewise, COMESA launched its Customs Union in October 2009.

5 Page 4 STATUS OF THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMMUNITIES Source: AUC (2009), Status of Integration in Africa Stages of the Abuja Treaty First Stage: Strengthening of existing RECs and establishment of new RECs where they do not exist Coordination and harmonization of activities Second Stage: Progressive elimination of Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers Free Trade Area Third Stage: Customs Union Fourth Stage: Continental Customs Union Fifth Stage: Establishment of an African Common Market Sixth Stage: Final Stage 2034 Economic and Monetary Union REC Study To be To be IGAD underway determined determined SADC 2010 To be determined CENSAD Underway ECOWAS 2009 COMESA 2009 ECCAS 2010 EAC This stage will be achieved when all the RECs have established the Customs Union and harmonized their respective CET with a view to establishing a single continental CET This stage will be achieved when all the RECs have attained the stage of Continental Customs Union as well as the free movement of workers and capital This stage will be realized when all the RECs have attained the stage of African Common Market and at that time, there will be a common currency, issued by the African Central Bank

6 Page 5 9. In the drive to accelerate the continental integration process, it is worthwhile to recall the main initiatives and developments that occurred recently within the framework of the rationalization of RECs. 10. At the Tripartite Summit of Heads of State and Government of COMESA, EAC and SADC, held in Kampala, Uganda, on 22 October 2008, discussions centred on strategies to deepen regional integration in eastern and southern Africa in the bid to achieve the objectives of the African Union (AU), which consist in accelerating the economic integration of the continent. 11. The Tripartite Summit decided that the three entities should merge into one Free Trade Area (FTA), which would finally evolve into a single market covering the three regional groupings. This model should help rationalize and harmonize the activities and programmes of the three RECs, as decided by the African Union Summit held in June/July 2006 in Banjul, and should serve as an example to inspire the other RECs. 12. Similarly, it is necessary to acclaim the rationalization decision in Central Africa, made by the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Central Africa Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) at a recent meeting between their Excellencies Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the Republic of Congo and Current President of ECCAS and François Bozizé Yangouvonda, President of the Central African Republic and Current President of CEMAC in Bangui, Central African Republic, on 9 October During that meeting, the two Heads of State decided to establish a steering committee comprising the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to develop a roadmap that sets out actions for harmonizing policies and programmes as well as the instruments for integrating the two communities and leading, eventually, to a single regional economic community in the Central Africa region. 13. Thus, significant progress has been made, although much remains to be done, despite the various initiatives undertaken at the regional and continental levels, particularly in the area of effective implementation of the recommendations of COMAI. II. Important recommendations of COMAI III and COMAI IV i) COMAI III 14. At COMAI III, African Ministers of Integration adopted, among others, the following recommendations, which were endorsed by the AU Summit of July 2008: i. invite Heads of State and Government of the African Union to devote exclusively, where necessary, one of the sessions of their Assembly to issues pertaining to integration and development; ii. invite Member States that have not yet done so, to establish a structure dealing with integration issues;

7 Page 6 iii. iv. call for the holding of periodic meetings between the Chairpersons of the RECs and of the Union; request Member States of the RECs that have not yet done so, to fast-track implementation of the legal instruments adopted on free movement on the other hand, and on the other, those that have already implemented their free movement programme, to take all necessary measures in order to remove any impediment to the success of this programme; v. request all Member States to exempt all government officials and all African nationals, holders of diplomatic passports from visas; and vi. urge Member States to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers to facilitate intra- African trade. ii) COMAI IV 15. At COMAI IV, African Ministers in charge of Integration adopted, among others, the following recommendations, which were endorsed by the AU Summit of July 2009: i. Adopt and use the Minimum Integration Programme (MIP) as a dynamic strategic and continental framework for the integration process; ii. iii. Urge the African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with Member States, the RECs and partner organizations, to organize sectoral meetings to identify the prioritized sectors which are considered as accelerators of the integration process, within a defined time schedule in line with the AUC Strategic Plan; Invite the AUC, in collaboration with AfDB, to explore the possibility of establishing a continental fund for the implementation of the MIP, which will be partially maintained with existing continental and regional funds as well as other alternative sources of financing, which are being identified by the AU; iv. Request the AUC to prepare a study on the financing of the Continental Fund dedicated to the implementation of the MIP; v. Encourage all RECs and the AUC to enhance coordination and collaboration amongst themselves through the strengthening of their working relations in the spirit of the revised Protocol on Relations between the AU and the RECs, signed in January 2008; vi. Call upon all Member States to comply with the COMAI III recommendation, as endorsed by the 11th Assembly of the Union, requesting all Member States to exempt all holders of African diplomatic and service passports from visa requirements as a first step; and as second step to gradually extend the privilege to all African nationals; and

8 Page 7 vii. Urge Member States to enhance the security features of their national passports. III. Status of Implementation of COMAI IV Recommendations Continental Fund for Implementation of the MIP 16. Pursuant to the recommendations regarding the establishment of a continental fund for implementation of the MIP, the AUC has developed the draft Terms of Reference for the feasibility study on the establishment of a Continental Fund dedicated to the financing of the MIP, and a meeting will be organized between the AUC and ADB to discuss the Terms of Reference. The launch of the study has been slated for MIP Sectoral Meetings 17. The projects and activities identified in all the approved MIP sectors will be implemented in strict compliance with the principle of subsidiarity. Consequently, the AUC through its component departments, has started to organize sectoral meetings in close cooperation with all the stakeholders, so as to more effectively target projects and activities, establish a clear calendar for their implementation and identify major sources of financing, taking into account the partnership between Africa and the rest of the world. To this end, the AUC will use the ordinary meetings of the various sectors and sub-sectors to adequately identify the priority activities. Study on the Quantification of Scenarios for the Rationalization of RECs 18. Pursuant to a COMAI III recommendation urging the AUC to speed up the conclusion of its study on the quantification of scenarios for the rationalization of the RECs, the AUC has put up an advertorial for recruitment of consultants to undertake the study. A consultancy firm has been identified in this regard. The draft study submitted by the firm is currently being examined and observations are being made thereon by the Commission. Once fine-tuned and accepted by the latter, the study will similarly be examined by Member States and the RECs experts before presentation to the Fifth Conference of Integration Ministers (COMAI V) to be held in Tripoli, Great Socialist People s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, in May IV. Decisions not implemented 19. It is however noteworthy that certain decisions both of COMAI IV and of previous Conferences, are yet to be implemented. The major recommendations not implemented relate to: i) free movement of persons, that is, exemption of holders of African diplomatic and service passports from visa requirements as a first step, and as a second step, gradually extending this privilege to all Africans; removal of tariff and nontariff barriers and free movement of goods, services and capital;

9 Page 8 ii) the call on the Heads of State and Government of the African Union to devote exclusively, where necessary, one of the ordinary sessions of their Assembly to issues pertaining to integration and development; iii) the call on Member States to include in their delegations to the Assemblies of the Union, Ministers in charge of Integration; and iv) the call for periodic meetings between the Chairpersons of the RECs and the Chairperson of the Union: for the purpose of implementing this decision, the Commission plans to organize, as far as possible in the current year, a ministerial meeting between the current Chair of COMAI and the current Chairpersons of the RECs. 20. Council was informed that the recommendations of the Ministers in charge of Integration also took cognisance of those of the Coordination Committee provided for by the Protocol on Relations between the AU and the RECs. This Committee comprises the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the chief executives of the RECs, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the President of the African Development Bank (ADB) and, when established, the heads of African Union Financial Institutions. 21. The Coordination Committee recently held its seventh session in Libreville and its conclusions are being submitted to Council in a separate report.