How Mwencha shaped Africa's trade future

After graduating from university in 1974, I joined the civil service and secured a position as an economist in Kenya’s Ministry of Planning and Development, where I was seconded to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

I was part of a United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido)-sponsored project focused on economic growth for sustainable development.

Working with professionals from diverse backgrounds and countries at Unido Kenya placed me in a truly multicultural environment. At that time, our team comprised five Kenyans and six expatriates — among them an Australian, two Indians, a Canadian and a German national.

This diversity presented challenges, as cultural biases and, occasionally, racial prejudices surfaced. Yet it proved a rich learning experience that broadened my outlook on life.

It was enlightening to discover that, as human beings, we inevitably hold differing viewpoints, shaped by the varied cultural contexts in which we were raised. For instance, our Canadian colleague often held markedly different opinions on industrialisation from those of our Indian counterparts.

Thanks to a programme for economists run by the Ministry of Planning, I was able to pursue postgraduate studies while working. I enrolled at the University of Toronto in Canada and, upon my return, was promoted to Senior Economist. Through Unido sponsorship, I also gained valuable experience in industrial training and participated in study tours to Japan, India, Nepal, Yugoslavia and the United States. During this period, the Kenyan government was intent on promoting import substitution as a viable strategy, given the country’s strategic position within East Africa’s industrial landscape.

As part of this initiative, I led a feasibility study on establishing an iron and steel industry in Kenya, focusing on the metal and engineering sectors. Working alongside Unido experts offered me valuable insights into designing and managing diverse economic policies for both industrialised and developing nations.

This was a crucial learning phase, as Kenya was transitioning towards import substitution. One of the most rewarding aspects of my work was engaging with industry leaders across the country. These interactions deepened my understanding of Kenya’s industrial capacity, the challenges facing various sectors, and the support they required from government to realise their ambitions.

I visited numerous industries across Kenya, engaging with management and gaining in-depth knowledge of the technologies and production processes they employed. This experience also enhanced my understanding of the relationship between the private sector and government, and how public policy could either facilitate or hinder industrial growth.

Later, as Director of Industry, Energy and Environment at the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), I authored a critique of the IMF/World Bank Structural Adjustment Programme (Sap).

My learning journey extended beyond Kenya’s borders. I recall travelling to India to study its industrialisation experience and to Nepal to observe the development of small-scale energy projects. This exposure broadened my perspective, exposing me to models beyond the purely private sector, where cooperatives or corporations owned industries.

My travels also took me to Japan, where I studied its industrialisation path and the processes underpinning its remarkable economic achievements, and to the United States, where I gained insight into industrial promotion strategies and how the private sector operates.

My work, however, was not merely observational. With the growing domestic demand for plastics, I was involved in feasibility studies for local projects, including the establishment of a plastics industry.

Our studies on the iron and steel industry revealed that the Kenyan market was too small for the available technologies to establish the industry.  With a required minimum plant size of one million tons and a Kenyan consumption of about 500,000 tons, it became clear that the only way to make such a plastics plant viable was to export the excess beyond domestic consumption.

This realisation was a turning point for me, because it coincided with the collapse of the East African Community and the start of negotiations to establish the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) for Eastern and Southern Africa. As the PTA took shape, I recognised the need to operate within a broader regional framework and subsequently joined the PTA Secretariat, which later evolved into Comesa.

Within a short time, I became Head of Industry and Energy at PTA/Comesa, gaining substantial experience in understanding industrial structures across Eastern and Southern Africa.

More members

Comesa now encompasses more than 21 member states, most of which joined during my tenure — a period that allowed me to grasp the economic foundations of the region’s nations.

When I joined, Comesa was a fledgling organisation of just six members. Our Secretary-General was a Ugandan who had previously served as Deputy Minister of Education and Governor of the Bank of Uganda.

The Treaty establishing the PTA was signed in December 1981 and came into force in September 1982 after ratification by nine member states. Initially funded through member subscriptions, its formula — based on GDP, income per capita and intraregional exports — was revised in 1989 to give greater weight to trade within the region.

Following the Lagos Plan of Action, which called for expanded intra-African trade, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) established five subregional Multinational Programming and Operational Centres (MULPOCs). The centre for Eastern and Southern Africa, based in Lusaka, successfully negotiated the PTA Treaty in 1981 under the leadership of Adebayo Adedeji, then Executive Secretary of UNECA.

Its strategy involves reducing trade barriers, harmonising customs procedures, introducing rules of origin, facilitating transport and communications, industrial and agricultural development, and providing special support for the least industrialised member states.

In the 1990s, this vision evolved into Comesa, which adopted a multispeed development model. Unlike the PTA, which operated by consensus, Comesa permitted decisions by a two-thirds majority when consensus proved elusive. Its Treaty also introduced enforceable measures, with sanctions for non-compliance, including suspension or expulsion.

Comesa retained key PTA structures but enhanced them to foster deeper integration — including the establishment of a Free Trade Area, removal of non-tariff barriers, and eventual creation of a customs and monetary union.

I was promoted to the position of Director of Industry and Energy in 1987, succeeding Charles Okui of Uganda. Okui had previously served as Minister of Industry in president Godfrey Binaisa’s administration in 1982 in Uganda.

When President Museveni captured power in 1986, Mr Okui lost the support of Uganda. At that Dr Bingu wa Muthrika was the Secretary General who later contested and became President of Malawi. The Comesa Council of Ministers suspended Dr Mutharika at that time. A decision was thereafter made that I assume the position of Secretary General in an acting capacity.

This was traumatising, to say the least, as I felt green and underqualified. Additionally, I was in the process of “jumping ship”, so to speak, searching for other opportunities. I was hesitant to accept the opportunity.

The ensuing months were challenging, but somehow, through the grace of God, it worked out well. One contributing factor was the support of my team and colleagues.

After giving my best at the institution’s helm in acting capacity, I applied for the position of Secretary General at the Kinshasa summit. I was confirmed as the new Secretary General after a rigorous competitive process. Together with my team, we led Comesa to become the first African Regional Economic Community to establish a Free Trade Area, making significant progress in regional trade liberalisation.

We also strengthened institutions such as the Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), now the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI).

One of the most challenging moments of my tenure was Tanzania’s withdrawal from Comesa. Another, more memorable, was the launch of the Comesa Free Trade Area on October 31 2000 — a historic day marked by excitement among small cross-border traders eager to benefit from the new duty-free regime.