The African Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results (AfCoP-MfDR) in COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) with the support of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) has organised the Africa for Results (AfriK4R) Learning and Knowledge Sharing Forum to be held on 22-23 September in Lilongwe, Malawi. The meeting will provide a platform to take stock of MfDR implementation among COMESA member states in the three regional policy areas of trade facilitation, business climate promotion and public financial management. The meeting will discuss the member country successes, challenges and will ultimately map the way forward for building capacity in these areas.
With regional integration high on the list of priorities for African countries, making markets more accessible is of paramount importance. One of the key push factors for regional economic integration is to improve cross-border trade and movement of skills within the region, as well as being able to speak with one voice in negotiating trade agreements with major global powers. Individual countries are often seen as too weak to get favourable deals in negotiations with big powers - even under the aegis of the World Trade Organisation.
Current thinking is that the domestication of regional directives must be prioritised if Africa is to continue ‘rising’. In this light, a conducive business climate facilitated by sound public financial management policies is key. Identifying and building requisite capacities in managing for results in these areas is hence an area of concern for COMESA member countries.
This AfCoP- COMESA meeting, therefore, –will focus on sharing and linking knowledge on MfDR and creation of synergies between regional and national processes across COMESA member countries. The meeting will also be used to identify and agree on specific areas of knowledge sharing and strategies and the effective use of the COMESA regional platform.
The meeting is expected to bring together over 40 senior policy makers, managers and practitioners from COMESA members states (Burundi, Union of Comoros, Congo DRC, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Sudan, Swaziland, Seychelles, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe), experts from COMESA secretariats, ACBF and AfDB. It is hoped that this event will further entrench a results culture in Africa and contribute to the continent’s transformation agenda.
