Lusaka, Friday 22 November 2019: Over 100 golfers are participating in the COMESA 25th Anniversary Golf tournament at the Bonanza Golf course in Lusaka, Zambia.
The tournament attracted players from the international and business community, diplomatic corps, government academia and ordinary citizens. The main sponsor of the event is the Trade and Development Bank (TDB).
Immediate Past Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Mr. Erastus Mwencha, also former Secretary General of COMESA, was part of the first coterie to tee off the tournament. He was joined by COMESA’s Assistant Secretaries General for Programmes, and Administration and Finance, Dr Kipyego Cheluget and Dr Dev Haman, respectively. The Director of International Law at Zambia’s Ministry of Justice Martin Lukwasa represented the minister of Justice Given Lubinda as guest of honour.
Speaking at the event, Zambia’s Minister of Justice Hon. Given Lubinda said COMESA is now setting the pace for the entire continent and provides the strongest building block for the integration of the African continent.
“We are celebrating an organization and its stable of institutions that have outgrown the vision of the founding fathers; that of integrating the eastern and southern African region,” Mr Martin Lukwasa added.
For his part, Trade and Development Bank President, Admassu Tadesse expressed the Bank’s fervor to support the activities of COMESA to ensure that all Member States benefit from the integration Agenda as set by the founding fathers.
Mr. Erastus Mwencha stated that the growth path of COMESA from PTA was motivating given that the organisation started with very few members but is now the leading regional bloc in Africa with 21 Member States.
“COMESA deserves congratulations as we tee off this golf tournament,” Mwencha said.
The golf tournament is the first event of the COMESA Week constituting build-up activities leading to the main celebration of the COMESA Day set for Thursday 28 November 2019. Other corporate entities that have sponsored the event are Yellow Card (a COMESA motor vehicle insurance scheme), Zamtel, Black Dot, Atlas Mara, Liquid Telecoms and Ethiopian Airlines among others.