MUTARE A senior World Bank official has urged local firms to expand into the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) region that is set to become a common customs union next year.Craig Harries a principal economist with the banks southern region desk said the customs union would present both opportunities and threats to local companies and said the government and private firms should do more to prepare for the union.
Harries, who was speaking at a breakfast meeting organised by the Zimbabwe Centre for Business Economics (ZCBE) in Mutare last week, said the inclusive government had an obligation to disseminate more information about COMESA and the impending customs union “so that business knows what it is all about.”
He said the customs union would present a number of challenges for the government that would have to juggle the need to protect local businesses from competition while also ensuring the interests of consumers were served.
On a positive note Harries said expanding into the COMESA region would provide local firms with alternative markets instead of confining businesses to single market even when that market is beset with problems.
“We need to diversify and start spreading into COMESA as there is a bigger market for local products,” he said.
Harries said the customs union would also help attract investors from outside the region, as the enlarged market of more than 200 million people was more attractive to investors than the current small individual national markets.
Post published in: Economy