Lusaka- Can regional integration succeed among three economic blocs of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC); the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and East African Community (EAC) to form one single market?

This is the debate buffeting the three groupings that are seeking to integrate into a single market in order to achieve a single currency, spurred by increased intra-trade based on a broader based formula under a Free Trade Area (FTA) to champion growth prospects.

But over the years, several critics have bluntly written off SADC, COMESA and EAC as lacking political will and commitment to ensure key tenets to sustain regional integration are achieved.

They cite among other factors, the free movement of people to enhance skills exchange, protectionism against competition and indecision on a number of policy issues coupled with lack of political will among the leadership in the three blocs.

Think-tanks including Southern Africa Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), and TradeMark Southern Africa believe that the short-changing of policies among the leadership has remained at play at the expense of developing the region has been costly.

SAIIA Head of Economic Diplomacy Programme Catherine Grant regrets that the indecision on various policies especially by SADC leadership has cost the region’s efforts to integrate and develop most of the economies that are wallowing in abject poverty.

Grant cited the failure to appreciate the dynamics of liberalisation among member countries, coupled with among other factors, failure to break the yoke of sovereignty on various trading policies.

This has affected the ability to allow free flow of new ideas, coupled with the member countries’ dependence on exports of primary commodities, have frustrated the birth of regional integration envisaged to be ready by 2018.

“Despite the lack of political will, regional integration (in SADC) has already taken off at the grassroots. The people themselves are trading and doing business freely while leaders continue to debate the way forward,” Grant told reporters recently in South Africa ahead of the SADC Summit that was held in Zimbabwe August 17-18, 2014.

Mark Pearson, head of TradeMark Southern African and an expert in regional integration notes that various shortcomings including delays by the three interest groups, SADC, COMESA and EAC.

According to Pearson, the trio need to embrace over 800 million people and create a common market with a Gross Domestic Product of US$1 trillion into reality by undertaking various pre-requisites, all which should be achieved in less than five years from now.

Pearson notes that the lack of political will has been compounded due to the delays by the three regional blocs to embrace and put into force a Tripartite Free Trade Area and increase cooperation that will in turn foster increased intra-trade.

“Little or no progress has been made on movement of business persons. The SADC FTA is also behind target, while SADC remains without a dispute settlement mechanism without the SADC Tribunal,” said Pearson in an emailed statement to The Southern Times.

However, Pearson is cognisant of various good efforts with regard chiefly to good progress having been made into infrastructural development.

This follows the approval of the Regional Indicative Development Master Plan (RISDMP) which seeks to overhaul and build new infrastructure to harness development among member states

“For a number of reasons, little progress has been made in improving trade facilitation although SADC has done a lot of ground work in this area,” he says adding that, “Good progress has also been made in the identification and resolution of Non-Tariff Barriers”.

Meanwhile, Pearson commended the SADC leadership over its concerted efforts in making elections in various member states free.

On the other hand, the SADC executive secretary Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax contends that despite various challenges, the regional leadership was committed and has the political will to achieve various targets as espoused by the 15-member states.

“We are committed and we have the political will to achieve our goals, we have done so much and we are determined to achieve what we are planning,” Tax was quoted saying ahead of SADC Heads of States and Government Summit in Victoria Falls.

She said despite some of the shortcomings, efforts have been made towards achieving regional integration as evidenced by the adoption and embracing of the revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) for the period 2015-2020 and beyond.

The RISDP is a comprehensive development and implementation framework that guides Southern Africa regional integration agenda and is aimed at operationalising free movement of goods, capital, services and labour across the region.

Tax noted that it is the desire of all countries to ensure that free trade, customs union, dual membership among states in different groups, among other factors are resolved without delay to accelerate regional integration, which many feel has been delayed beyond the focused 2018.

COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya is optimistic that the three groupings will achieve their intended goals.

He maintains that the lack of political will many critics use as basis to shoot down the efforts, ‘lack substance’.

“We have the political will and we are willing to achieve our goals…….the leaders in member countries are responding well,” he said in Lusaka recently.

In all, as part of its integration agenda, the SADC has formulated the US$600 billion Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan Vision 2027, a 15-year blueprint that will guide implementation of cross-border infrastructure projects between 2013 and 2027.

Source URL: The Southern Times

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.