CUTS Africa Resource Centre

Training Seminar on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
Lusaka, Zambia, May 14-16, 2007

CUTS Africa Resource Centre (CUTS ARC), Lusaka, in collaboration with Service Centre for Development Cooperation (Kepa), Zambia, Civil Society Trade Network of Zambia (CSTNZ), Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) and Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) organised a training seminar on EPAs, in Lusaka, on May 14-16, 2007.

The seminar was attended by various stakeholders, including civil society organisations (CSOs), government officials, and media persons, Kepa policy officers from the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region and Finland, and CSO representatives from South Africa and Tanzania, and a representative from the EC delegation in Zambia.

The objective of the seminar was to exchange information and ideas on the ongoing EPA negotiations with the view to help stakeholders to feed into the negotiations.

Trade and Market Linkages for Small Scale Farmers in Zambia
Mansa, Zambia, November 20-21, 2006

CUTS Africa Resource Centre (CUTS ARC), Lusaka, with the support from Danish Association for International Cooperation (MS-Zambia), organised a lobby and advocacy workshop under the project entitled, ‘Trade and Market Linkages for Small Scale Farmers in Zambia’ at Mansa, Zambia, on November 20-21, 2006.

In the workshop, small scale farmers and producers urged government to revisit the agriculture marketing policy if agriculture is to contribute to economic development. As it has been widely hailed that the policy has significantly contributed to sever poverty in rural areas, this is because a considerable percentage of Zambians living in rural and semi-urban areas and earn their living through agriculture, and related activities.

The sector has suffered significant challenges as a result of liberalisation which include: poor pricing mechanisms; inability to access markets; lack of information on market requirement and standards; branding; packaging poor representation of small scale farmers’ interests; and low budget allocation to the sector. Participants acknowledge the need for an effective policy which is coherent with efforts to address poverty such as the MDGs.

Regional Dialogue on EPA Negotiations and Economic Development
Lusaka, Zambia, October 19-21, 2006

CUTS Africa Resource Centre (CUTS ARC), Lusaka hosted a regional workshop on the ‘Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Negotiations and Economic Development in Eastern and Southern Africa’, in Lusaka, Zambia during October 19-21, 2006.

The objectives of the regional workshop were to:

• discuss and identify the development component of the EPAs;
• address the issue of coherence with national and regional development plans/strategies;
• asses the framework, content and process issues for reviewing EPA negotiations; and
• provide stakeholder inputs into the existing Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) and Southern African Development Community (SADC)-EPA negotiation framework.

Participants included a wide range of stakeholders from civil society, policy makers and private sector from 15 countries in the Eastern and Southern region.

Dialogue on Linkages between Trade, Development and Poverty Reduction
Lusaka, Zambia, September 19, 2006

CUTS Africa Resource Centre (CUTS ARC), Lusaka, in conjunction with Organisation Development and Community Management Trust (ODCMT) hosted a national consultative dialogue on the Linkages between Trade Development and Poverty Reduction (TDP) in Lusaka, Zambia, on September 19, 2006.

The objectives of the dialogue were to:

• facilitate cross-fertilisation of experiences and lessons learnt on linkages between trade, development and poverty reduction in the developing countries;
• strengthen the ability of developing countries through the provision of policy support and other know-how and do-how on trade and development issues;
• facilitate synergy between governments and civil society organisations (CSOs) to strengthen collective perspectives and positions; and
• advocate development-oriented trade policies, based on learning from research and other activities, by taking into account the interests and priorities (needs and aspirations) of the poor and marginalised sections of the society and look into the aspects of policy coherence.

One of the recommendations that emerged from the dialogue was that trade liberalisation was rushed in the Zambian case. Closing down of many local industries has been due to opening of the market to imports and stiff domestic competition. Since liberalisation, the Zambian economy has been experiencing increasing hardship. More firms have closed as compared to the new ones have been established, unemployment has increased and so has the gap between the rich and the poor. In general, poverty has increased. There is need for a more cautious approach when signing international trade protocols. Further, it was voiced that Zambia must reassess gains from trade arrangements already signed. The Government must provide better direction and support to the business community to hasten the adjustment process. In order for trade liberalisation to benefit the poor, there is a great need to establish coherence between liberalisation initiatives and national development policies/plans/strategies.

CUTS Africa Resource Centre (CUTS ARC), Lusaka, in conjunction with Civil Society Trade Network of Zambia (CSTNZ) hosted a national workshop on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations in Kitwe, Zambia on September 11, 2006. The objectives of the workshop were to:

• inform and consult stakeholders on the threats and opportunities of the EPAs and raise recommendations to the government and trade negotiators;
• build the capacity of organisations in the Copperbelt to effectively engage and participate in the EPA negotiations process;
• contribute to the realisation of a development-friendly EPA with the European Union (EU); and
• develop a national advocacy document.
Participants debated on key issues of concern and came up with several recommendations. Some of them were:
• the negotiation team should be strengthened with the inclusion of more competent members including different stakeholders and take inputs from the civil society;
• the list of sensitive products should be drawn by considering sectors across the country;
• stakeholders should provide government with information and recommendations on how to best go about developing certain sectors, for eg. the dairy sector;
• lobby and advocacy should be a continuous process as this can have a larger impact on outcomes;
• the Government of Zambia should provide subsidies and other incentives to local indigenous investors to enhance competitiveness, value-addition and production capacity; and
• an assessment should be carried out on what Zambia has attained out of its various memberships in different organisations: Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Trade and Market Linkages Strategy for Small Scale Producers in Eastern Province
Chipata, Zambia, August 10-11, 2006

A two-day training workshop entitled, ‘Trade and Market Linkages Strategy for Small Scale Producers’, was organised by CUTS Africa Resource Centre (CUTS ARC), Lusaka, in partnership with the Danish Association for International Cooperation (MS-Zambia) at Chipata, Zambia, on August 10-11, 2006.

The objectives were to enable farmers to better exploit domestic and international markets through increased knowledge and networks; to build an alliance of organisations to lobby and advocate for policies favourable to regional producers; to empower farmers to advocate for favourable trade arrangements and to establish practical market linkages at regional, national and international levels.

The workshop was organised in three sessions, which involved presentations, group discussions, and plenary sessions. Papers were presented by Farmer Support Organisation (FOSUP), Export Board of Zambia (EBZ) and by Vladimir Chilinya of CUTS ARC. Discussion themes included opportunities and challenges for small scale farmers in regional and international agriculture markets and agro-processing; establishing effective institutional linkages in agriculture trade; and creating networks to ensure farmers have access to information finance and markets etc.

The workshop identified several problems for producers, such as lack of institutional structures and failure to plan for markets before production. Participants produced several recommendations relating to the problems, including that District Farmers Associations (DFAs) have a strong role in community sensitisation on developments in the agricultural trade sector; capacity-building initiatives continue in the province and strategic partners help link DFAs financing institutions.

Zambia NEPAD National Action Plan (ZNAP)
CUTS-ARC hosted a consultative meeting on ZNAP, on July 29, 2005 at Lusaka to facilitate the drafting of a paper and comments to the ZNAP. The other objectives were to provide formal inputs to the ZNAP document and to assess the recommendations of the two NEPAD meetings held earlier.

Summary Report of the Official launch of the Study Report

On 20th February 2001, William Harrington, Zambia’s Acting Minister for Commerce, Trade & Industry inaugurated the Africa Resource Centre of Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), a Jaipur, India-based International NGO involved in trade, investment, competition and consumer protection issues, at Lusaka, Zambia.

Mr. Harrington noted that the CUTS initiative to promote South-South civil society cooperation and capacity building on trade and development issues will go a long way in strengthening the bargaining capacity of developing countries on the international trade proscenium. He felicitated CUTS warmly and assured it of all assistance to ensure the success and sustainability of the Resource Centre.

“In today’s dynamic and integrating world the role and importance of civil society in economic governance assumes a greater significance than was case in the past”, Harrington asserted.

Speaking on the occasion, India's high commissioner, Ashok Attri noted that CUTS is a leading consumer organisation in India and is recognised internationally. “I have personally interacted with them over the past many years, and am happy to be here as a witness to another milestone in its history. They have done a commendable job so far in the area of consumer protection and competition at the national, regional and international level”.

Zambia Competition Commission's Executive Director, George Lipimile, joined in the felicitation and while offering all his help, stated that the consumer movement in Zambia will certainly benefit by this Resource Centre. Mr. Lipimile also noted that governments in the region will also benefit by this new venture.

In welcoming all the guests, the CUTS Secretary General, Pradeep S. Mehta, spoke about the history of CUTS, and how it works at the grassroots up to international levels on several issues of public interest.

Mr. Mehta said that the setting up of the Africa Resource Centre is a dream come true, and they look forward to working closely with the civil society, in particular with consumer organisations and the Consumers International's regional office in Harare, Zimbabwe.

“CUTS will also interact closely with governments of the region as well as the COMESA secretariat, and other regional bodies. As Africa is a huge continent, to start with, we will focus mainly on countries of the COMESA and SADC region”, Mehta said.

Regional Workshop-' Strategies for Consumers and Civil Society Organisations in Influencing Economic Policymaking', 20-21 December 02, Uganda

Enhance the capacity of consumer and civil society organizations in articulating, influencing of socio-economic policymaking and their implementation at the national, regional and international level.

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of consumer and civil society organisations in the region in influencing economic policies;
Provide an informed assessment of consumer power and potential in policymaking;
Review experiences in policy advocacy and its significance to better public service, and the instruments for enforcing them;
Examine how to foster mutual understanding between government–policymakers, regulators, goods and services providers and consumer / civil society organizations;
Examine the place of consumer education and protection in contemporary governance concerns; and
Enhance knowledge and understanding of the role of consumer and civil sector organizations in socio-economic agenda planning, participation and formulation;
Analyze experiences with regard to the development and implementation of advocacy strategies;
Examine available information sources and support tools for socio-economic decision-making; and Identify key capacity-building requirements and determine steps for regional collaboration and information exchange.

CUTS-Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC) organised the seminar on 25-26, March 2002, at Lusaka, Zambia. The seminar served as a follow up of the Doha Ministerial Conference of the WTO. The objective was to make an assessment of the Work Programme adopted at Doha from the regional perspective and also devise strategies for future research and advocacy. Representatives from government, inter governmental organizations, consumer and research organizations, business, media and academia from the Southern and Eastern African countries participated in this seminar.

HARARE WORKSHOP DISCUSSES NEPAD, AGOA, OTHER TRADE ARRANGEMENTS

On 29-30 October, more than thirty civil society representatives, researchers and academics gathered in Harare, Zimbabwe for a two-day regional workshop on "The Interface Between Trade and Regional Partnership Agreements - Cotonou, AGOA, WTO and NEPAD". The workshop was organised by the Consumer Unity and Trust Society-Africa (CUTS- ARC) Lusaka, Mwengo (Zimbabwe) and the Institute of Global Dialogue (South Africa). The discussions focused on the on-going negotiation processes of African trade agreements in the context of the continent's prospects for development. The aim of the workshop was to shed light on some of the issues at stake in the various negotiations in which Africa is involved and the development benefits of schemes such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

Cotonou

The workshop noted that whereas the EU was the driving force behind new negotiations between Europe and the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries -- due to its heightened understanding of its relationship with the ACP -- the same could not be said about the ACP countries themselves. Because of this lack of clarity, workshop participants said, it has been deemed unlikely that the ACP region will draw as much benefit from eventual ACP-EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as might be expected. Negotiations for WTO-compatible EPAs under the Cotonou Agreement were launched in September between the two groups of countries (see Bridges Monthly, October 2002, http://www.ictsd.org/monthly/index.htm).

Negotiations in Brussels contain several proposals for the further opening up of African economies. However, according to the final communiqué from the workshop, "some of the proposals in the EPA agenda such as trade and labour standards, policies governing investment, competition and intellectual property rights are contradictory to the positions of African countries at the WTO. At the WTO, they have refused to discuss new issues such as labour standards, trade and environment and multilateral rules on investment. But they have agreed to do so under the Cotonou Agreement." According to workshop participants, this is of concern for African countries because not only are both sets of negotiations going on simultaneously, but the EU has much greater leverage and influence at the WTO, threatening to weaken the bargaining potential of African countries in the new round of WTO negotiations.

The workshop also identified some of the problems with the EU's EPA proposals, in particular that they are aimed at dividing the ACP by region and by levels of development instead of by common economic interests. As a result, meeting participants noted, African countries could be forced to take divergent positions on similar issues, lending advantage to the EU in the negotiations. According to Professor Jasper Okelo of the University of Nairobi, the geographical configurations required by the Cotonou Agreement in forming EPAs "are a difficult and complex issue that needs time and mobilisation of political will to sort out". This is partly due to overlaps in the trade and economic groupings among the ACP, he said.

For a state-of-play of the EU-ACP EPA negotiations, visit EPAwatch at
http://www.epawatch.net/general/start.php.

NEPAD-WTO

Regarding NEPAD and the WTO, the workshop noted that there were areas of overlap and therefore a need for greater coordination. The areas of overlap were identified as springing from their underlying economic ideology, with the emphasis on trade as the preferred engine for growth in developing countries.

AGOA

Regarding the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA, see http://www.agoa.gov/About_AGOA/about_agoa.html) trade arrangement between the US and 34 African countries, there was a consensus among the experts that several issues of concern have arisen. It was pointed out that AGOA's rules of origin are in contradiction with WTO rules, and that while there are many preferences under AGOA, its time frame was seen to be too short for countries to develop the needed infrastructure so as to maximise their benefit from the trade arrangement. Further, AGOA is not a partnership arrangement, as there was little African involvement in its preparation.

The workshop concluded that: "countries in the region need to focus on developing a comprehensive national development strategy and appropriate trade policy package instead of focusing their energies on sectoral and divisive programmes such as Cotonou, AGOA and NEPAD." In this regard, the workshop called for greater advocacy and public education on the contents of and issues at stake in the various trade negotiations of which African countries are participants.