COMESA Secretariat Management retreated for two days on August 20 – 21 to review how the organization performed in the past year and identify areas of improvements for overall efficiency and effectiveness. The retreat helped to determine priorities to guide the development of work programmes and budgets for 2020. Further, the retreat provided space for management team to review policy proposals to be presented to the COMESA Policy Organs besides promoting internal decision making that is underpinned by increased transparency and accountability.
Former Secretary of COMESA Mr. Erastus Mwencha, who was enroute to Livingstone to attend the Trade and Development Bank meeting stopped over in Lusaka to address the participants at the retreat.
At the opening of the retreat, the Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe stressed the importance of reviewing the organization’s performance regularly in order to keep pace with the ever-changing world in terms of technology and management styles.
“We need to review how we have performed this past year and identify further enhancements required to improve overall efficiency and effectiveness and also determine priorities that will guide the development of work programmes and budgets for 2020,” she said.
The SG emphasized the role of staff in the effectiveness of the COMESA Secretariat in delivering on its mandate stating that aside from the elaborate planning and budgeting, the success of the organization is determined by its human capital hence the need to prioritize staff welfare.
In his remarks Mr. Mwencha, who is a former Deputy Chair of the African Union provided insights on global trends in regional integration, the emerging challenges to globalization and the need for the region and Africa to stay the course. He stressed the need for COMESA to demonstrate the impact of its programmes and the benefits to Member States especially its highly successful institutions and trade facilitation tools.
The COMESA Secretariat is preparing the 2020 Work Programme and Budget for consideration by the Council of Ministers later this year.