SACU to 'clean house' at SA meeting

MBONGENI MGUNI
Staff Writer | Friday July 2, 2010 00:00

Last June, SACU 100-year unity was dealt a blow when Namibia and South Africa held back from signing an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA) with the European Union while Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho went ahead.

The iEPA and disagreement on further discussions with the EU created instability within SACU, with some commentators predicting its demise.

Realising SACU's relevance and the importance of regional cohesion in international trade, members smoked the peace pipe last April at a Council of Ministers' meeting and the inaugural heads of state and government summit in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, the latter being called to weigh in their support.

SACU has since institutionalised the Heads of State and Government structure, viewing the leaders' presence as essential to navigating the EU and other divisive issues that threaten the custom union's existence.

Besides the contentious EU negotiations, the Heads of State and Government attending next month's meeting in South Africa have a crammed agenda to deliberate on.Addressing a BIDPA workshop in Gaborone this week, SACU Executive Secretary Tswelopele Moremi outlined key concerns that will exercise the minds of Trade Ministers and Heads of State and Government.

These include a review of the revenue-sharing agreement which has already been tendered out to consultants and is due to take 12 weeks to complete. Another is a review of the 2002 SACU Agreement, specifically to broaden it to include areas such as Trade in Services, Finance and Investment, Government Procurement, the Environment, Market and Monetary Integration.

Other agenda items include the establishment of outstanding institutions such as Tariff Boards and Tribunal and positioning the customs union within the regional context.'Member states are fully aware that this process will be a long and challenging one, but they remain committed towards SACU as an institution, notwithstanding these challenges,' the Executive Secretary said.

'It is important to acknowledge that SACU is fully aware that the union is not just about revenue-sharing. Issues of trade facilitation, harmonisation of policies and cooperation among member states to harness investment in the region are equally important.'

Analysts say the importance of several of the agenda items - particularly the broadening of trade areas and the establishment of Tariff Boards and Tribunal - have been exposed by EPA negotiations with the EU. Outstanding issues with the EU include alignment of tariffs, while a SACU tribunal might have mediated over last year's divisions.

Moremi expressed confidence that the forthcoming meeting would 'signify the re-commitment of political leadership' towards moving the union forward.

For his part, the Assistant Minister of Finance, Charles Tibone, pledged Botswana's commitment to regional cohesion, adding that the country had already made strides in some of the challenges facing the union.

'Botswana endeavours to establish her national tariff body as a matter of urgency,' Tibone said. 'The draft bill has been produced and is being processed within the Ministry of Trade and Industry.'