Stop ’re-colonising’ Africa, civil society tells EU
The Namibian (Windhoek) | 6 March 2008
Africa: Stop ’Re-Colonising’ Africa, Civil Society Tells EU
Brigitte Weidlich
Windhoek
NINE civil society organisations have called on the European Union and its Trade Commission to align its economic partnership proposals with Africa’s economic integration plans.
"The time has come to listen to the voices from southern Africa, and in this regard we call on you to stop the EC’s EPA agenda and to stop trying to re-colonise Africa," says a letter to EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who arrived for a five-day tour of southern Africa this week.
It was handed over to the Windhoek office of the European Commission on Wednesday.
The civil society representatives expressed concern about reservations raised by Namibia and other African states when they initialled an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) in December "in haste and under immense pressure", according to the open letter.
Signatory states outside Europe can now export their products to the EU duty and quota free, but they must open their markets to EU goods and slash import tariffs by 80 per cent by July this year.
"In Namibia’s case, our small traders will in all likelihood suffer from cheaper EU imports," Nela Kasuto of the Komeho Namibia Development Agency told a press briefing in Windhoek yesterday, sharing the contents of the open letter to Mandelson.
Namibia initialled the IEPA with an accompanying statement containing a condition that it did so contingent to an assurance that the unresolved issues encountered during 2007 be reopened for negotiation this year.
This step came after the President of the European Commission (EC), Manuel Barroso, assured African governments during the December EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, they would have the opportunity to effectively address their concerns.
"We are deeply concerned about the negative effects of the IEPA on the regional integration process in southern Africa and the mounting pressure on the integrity of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) and its implications for future development," the letter added.
"We would like to reiterate the declaration of African trade ministers in December 2007, the African Union (AU) Resolution and the statement by the Brussels-based African Group of Ambassadors in February 2008 to reopen the contentious issues in IEPAs for negotiation to align the EC’s EPA-agenda with the AU-agenda for African economic integration.
"Failure to review the contentious issues in the IEPA would be inconsistent with the binding provisions of the Cotonou Agreement regarding economic development, regional integration and poverty alleviation," the signatories stated in their letter.
According to independent trade expert Wallie Roux, who also attended the press conference, Namibia would have to scrap its infant industry protection status for local beer, pasta and long-life milk, and allow EU countries a ’most favoured nation’ (MFN) status for their goods exported to Namibia.
"Namibia will also be unable to protect local maize and wheat producers against cheap maize and wheat from Europe, should it sign the full EPA," Roux pointed out.
The signing is scheduled for the end of this year, should negotiations be successful.
The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) signed the open letter together with Komeho Trust, Women’s Solidarity Namibia, the Labour Research and Resource Centre, Young Women’s Christina Association and the Namibia Rural Development Programme.
Meanwhile, the South African government announced on Tuesday that it would not sign an economic partnership agreement with the EU.
The country also refused to initial the interim agreement.
South Africa has a separate trade agreement with the EU.
