President William Ruto on Thursday revealed an ambitious vision to save member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) financial resources as he called on the ratification of a pan-African payments and settlement system to enable and ease trade among the countries.
Speaking at the 23rd COMESA Summit held in Bujumbura the President said the African payment system can save Africa more than Ksh644 billion (USD5 billion) annually in payment and foreign exchange transaction costs.
"Instead of our traders chasing currency exchanges, they can be comfortably chasing trade initiatives," President Ruto stated. COMESA economic bloc accounts for 12.4 per cent of Kenyan exports.
President Ruto also noted that there was a need to reduce transaction costs for goods and services to boost trade among COMESA States.
At the same summit, the President congratulated COMESA on the coming into force of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) last July. He pointed out that this was a further step to harnessing the abundant potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The Head of State further commended Madagascar for being the latest COMESA Member State to ratify the TFTA urging COMESA member countries to embrace reforms at the African Union (AU).
He noted that AU must demonstrate seriousness in serving the more than 1.4 billion people in the continent.
"We must reform the AU to make it fit for purpose to serve the 1.4 billion citizens of the continent," President Ruto noted.
One highlight of the summit was that Ruto once again championed for his former political nemesis Raila Odinga as he campaigned for the former ODM party leader's candidature for the post of AU Commission Chairperson. Raila was, however, absent from the event.
"I want to take this opportunity to ask for your support on the position of the AU Commission chairperson. Odinga is the best man for the job," he added, describing the former Prime Minister as the best candidate for the position.
At the same time, President Ruto challenged COMESA Member States to put more effort into achieving regional integration and addressing the current challenges.
He noted in the past 30 years COMESA bloc has evolved to become a central institution for regional integration, mobility and economic transformation.
"We have liberalised trade, significantly increased exports and improved trade facilitation within the bloc. We have also cooperated on vital issues of peace, security and sustainable development," he observed.
He pointed out that with a population of 640 million and a GDP of $1 trillion, (approximately 128.9 trillion) COMESA is Africa’s largest economic bloc, offering significant opportunities for growth in employment and wealth creation through industrialization and innovation. between 2019 and 2023 Kenyan exports to the COMESA market grew by 8.9 per cent pointing to potential for increased commerce.
Also present in the summit were the Presidents of Egypt and Zambia, as well as Ethiopia's Prime Minister.
