By Sharon Tawuya
Harare, (New Ziana) – Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said on Thursday COMESA Member States should deliberately do more business among themselves, moving beyond trade to joint investments and regional value chains.
In his maiden address to the 25th COMESA Summit, President Hichilema said the bloc of nearly 700 million people is a huge market, but it will only work if Member States “walk the talk.”
“For us to make it work, we must walk the talk. What are we doing with our resource endowments? How are we using them to benefit our people?” he asked.
He said Africa still trades the least with itself and has a “phobia” of doing business with each other, preferring foreign goods.
“Even within our own countries, we tend to prefer foreign things and not local things. Somehow we still expect our economies will grow. How will they grow if we don’t work with ourselves, with our region?” he said.
President Hichilema also called for a deliberate shift from seeking capital only from Europe, America and Asia, to mobilizing capital from within COMESA.
“When we think of investment, why do we always stereotype that it must come from Europe, from America, from Asia? When we have good projects in COMESA, we can get capital from ourselves first, then supplement,” he said.
Giving an example of critical minerals, he noted that COMESA countries produce lithium, cobalt and manganese but still import electric vehicles.
“Why don’t we work together deliberately, so that one of us who is more advanced in the motor industry produces a vehicle owned by all of us? The battery made in one country with our lithium, the harness made in another, everything put together in one country – but it is a COMESA vehicle,” he said.
He said with 700 million consumers who love cars, the region has a ready market for such products and would significantly increase intra-COMESA trade.
President Hichilema also challenged COMESA to move beyond One Stop Border Posts to non-stop, 24/7 borders using technology and single window systems to cut the cost of doing business.`
“Why should we stop that traffic? With technology, we can watch what is being packed in a factory in Harare going to DRC through Zambia. It must pass,” he said.
He cited Zambia’s growth in fertilizer manufacturing as an example of the way national growth agendas are building blocks for the COMESA growth agenda and food security.
President Hichilema pledged Zambia’s full support to incoming Chair President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
“We are good working sticks when you need a stick around you. We will support what you do for the greater good of COMESA,” he said.
New Ziana
