New road network to accelerate regional trade

By John Oyuke

A Northern Corridor route from Mombasa port to Goma, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is set for major improvements.

The project is part of a new drive to promote regional economic integration through trade and investment to Eastern and Southern Africa.

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) regional leaders have also directed the Comesa secretariat to organise a high level conference for mobilisation of resources for the development of the Northern Corridor from Mombasa to Goma via Kampala, Kigali and Bujumbura.

In a statement issued at the end of the 13th Summit of the Heads of State and Government in Zimbabwe, the leaders also asked the secretariat to seek resources to develop the Lamu - Southern Sudan – Ethiopia Corridor.

Also to be developed is Djibouti to Addis Ababa Corridor and Central Corridor from Dar es Salaam to Goma among other strategic highways in the region. The leaders also decided that the secretariat, in collaboration with the Comesa-East African Community-Southern Africa Development Community Tripartite Task Force, should develop a programme to implement air and oceanic links between island and inland member states as well as develop port infrastructure to enhance regional integration.

Political will

The regional leaders who concluded their Summit on Monday called on all Comesa member states to show political will by implementing programmes geared towards deepening regional integration.

President Kibaki expressed optimism the recently operationalised Comesa Infrastructure Fund would be used as a platform for mobilising both private and public sector resources for accelerating infrastructure development in the region.

"The second window of the Fund seeks to address the region’s infrastructural needs and arrangements are underway to make it operational," said Kibaki.

It was during his tenure as Comesa Chairman that several member states ratified the protocol establishing the Fund thus bringing the full membership to ten.