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African free trade zone is agreed
The leaders of three African trading blocs on Wednesday agreed to  
create a free trade zone of 26 countries with a GDP of an estimated  
$624bn (£382.9bn).

It is hoped the deal will ease access to markets within the region and  
end problems arising from the fact several countries belong to  
multiple groups.

The deal also aims to strengthen the bloc's bargaining power when  
negotiating international deals.

Analysts say the agreement will help intra-regional trade and boost growth.

The three blocs which struck the deal were the Southern African  
Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC) and the  
the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).

"The greatest enemy of Africa, the greatest source of weakness has  
been disunity and a low level of political and economic integration,"  
said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at a meeting with the heads of  
state who chair the three trade blocs.

The agreement will also lend its backing to joint infrastructure and  
energy projects in the zone.

Redressing imbalance

Six heads of state from 26 countries in Comesa, SADC and the EAC  
attended the meeting in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, to sign the  
agreement.

Many of the leaders and representatives consider the new pact a way of  
giving Africa a greater voice on the world stage.

"By coming together, the member states will have a strong voice in  
advancing our interests on the international scene," said South  
African President Kgalema Motlanthe.

Meanwhile, President Museveni said that it was a step in the right  
direction for a continent that suffered unfairly when it came to  
global trade.


  FREE TRADE BLOC MEMBERS
The 26 African countries involved in the deal are:
Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic  
of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar,  
Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland,  
South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe

President Motlanthe also called for developing countries to have  
positions within global institutions.

""While Africa and other developing countries had marginal influence  
over the decisions that have brought the international finance systems  
to the brink of collapse, unjustifiably, African countries will bear  
the brunt," he said.

"Development countries must be included in the governance of all  
international financing institutions to mitigate adverse effects on  
them," Mr Motlanthe added.

Groupings

The three blocs are already well-established in their own right but  
cover varying swathes of land and numbers of people.

The SADC was first established as the Southern African Development  
Coordination Conference in 1980 in order to reduce independence on  
apartheid South Africa.

It was reincarnated as the SADC in 1992. It covers a population of  
some 248 million people and a zone whose cumulative GDP is $379bn in  
2006.

The SADC's members include South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Comesa was established in 1994 and replaced the Preferential Trade  
Area. It includes 398 million people and the area has a combined GDP  
of $286.7bn in 2006. Among its members are Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda  
and Sudan.

EAC is the smallest of the group in terms of GDP, and had a GDP of  
$46.6bn in 2006. Set up in 1967, disagreements between founding  
members Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania led to its collapse.

A treaty was signed for its re-establishment in 1999 and the new EAC  
was formed in 2000.






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