25 Jun 2018

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) meetings which started in Gaborone on June 25 will address a number of priority areas as part of reinvigorating the SACU bloc.

SACU executive secretary, Ms Paulina Elago said in a press briefing that SACU had done some self-introspection that entailed taking into account some development both at regional and global level.

She noted that work programme endorsed at the last summit in Swaziland, now eSwatini, came up with recommendations that should be implemented to ensure that SACU was on the right path to achieve agenda for deeper integration.

She said implementation would be undertaken by two ministerial task teams for finance and ministers responsible for industry and trade among the five SACU member states. Ms Elago further stated that task teams would be working on exploring mechanisms for financing regional and industrial development and regional infrastructure.

“We are also reviewing revenue sharing formula and feasibility of setting up a stabilisation fund as well as looking at tools and interventions to promote industrialisation and regional value chains,” she said.

She said SACU institution meetings would also review the development of a suitable architecture on tariff-setting and application of tariffs, rebates, refunds or duty drawbacks and trade remedies. She further said ministerial tasks teams had been meeting previously and that they would now be reporting progress on extensive trade agenda that SACU was embarking on specifically with regard to issues of customs union and common external tariff.

“As SACU, we negotiate trade agreements with third parties as a bloc and therefore we have been engaging on continental Free Trade Area where there has been an agreement that was signed at the African Union Summit in March last year.”

Ms Elago stated that SACU summit would also look broadly on issues that entailed a number of agreements that the SACU bloc was either negotiating or implementing as well as reviewing them with a view of maximising export and trade opportunities with

key trading partners and economic groupings such as the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union, the tripartite free trade agreement involving COMESA, the East African Community and SADC.

Meanwhile, chairperson of SACU Commission, Dr Taufila Nyamadzabo who is also Secretary for Economic and Financial Policy at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development said SACU institution meetings and Heads of State Summit would provide a platform for interaction by heads of state chaired by President Masisi as the current chairperson of SACU, while Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Kenneth Matambo would chair the SACU council of ministers’ meeting.  

The SACU summit that would be held on June 29 will be attended by heads of states or government and representatives of SACU member states being, the Kingdom of eSwatini’s King Mswati III, the Kingdom of Lesotho’s prime minister Thomas Thabane, president of Namibia Dr Hage Geingob and South Africa’s Mr Cyril Ramaphosa. ENDS