Govt seeks to amend Botswana trade agreement
Zimbabwe Independent, Harare
Govt Seeks to Amend Botswana Trade Agreement
By Pindai Dube
13 April 2007
Zimbabwe which is fast losing its market niche in the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) is seeking amendments to the Bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement (BPTA of 1988) with Botswana in a bid to access markets in the neighbouring nation.
The Botswana-Zimbabwe 1988 BPTA calls for reciprocal duty-free trade on all products grown, wholly produced, or manufactured wholly or partly from imported inputs subject to 25% local content requirements
Zimbabwe wanted the amendment of BPTA of 1988 so that it can trade under the auspices of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) and enjoy all the business done under the trade board.
Sacu comprises five countries — Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa. The union formed in 1969 aims to maintain the free interchange of goods between member countries.
Confidential minutes of a meeting held in Botswana last month between Zimbabwe Trade and Industry ministry senior officials and their Botswana counterparts show that Zimbabwe failed to railroad its proposals for the amendment of BPTA.
The meeting was held in Gaborone on March 29 and the minutes were compiled by Botswana’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Zimbabwe was represented by Industry and International Trade peremanent secretary Christian Katsande, while a Martha Masisi represented Botswana.
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Botswana, Thomas Mandigora, also attended the meeting.
Katsande reportedly pleaded for amendments to the BPTA to allow Zimbabwe’s products into Botswana. He said access to that market will help Zimbabwe’s bleeding economy.
Ambassador Mandigora on the other hand emphasised the need for a speedy conclusion to the negotiations for the mutual trade benefits for the two countries.
"There is need to finalise the amendments to the BPTA 1988 without any further delays to allow respective business communities an opportunity and also to help our country’s economy which is in bleeding state," Katsande said.
However, Botswana said it was not in any position to help Zimbabwe by further amending the 1988 agreement.
They argued that Article 31 of the October 2002 Agreement between Sacu union members prohibited any member of the union from entering into agreement with any state outside the union.
"It should also be noted that if Zimbabwe needs any amendments to the April 1988 BPTA Botswana would need to obtain the consent of other Sacu member states, in terms of the Article 31 Paragraph 3 of the October 2002 Sacu Agreement," read the minutes.
"...since it was observed that Paragraph 3 of Article 31 prohibits any Sacu member states from entering into new preferential trade agreements with the third parties or the existing agreements without the consent of the other member states".
