By Tichaona Katsvamutima
Kenyan President William Ruto has handed over the chairmanship of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, urging African nations to reduce their dependence on foreign financing, expand regional trade and take greater control of their economic development.
Addressing the 25th COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government at the New Parliament Building in Harare on Thursday, Ruto challenged African leaders to abandon an economic model heavily reliant on exporting raw materials, importing finished goods and borrowing from international lenders.
“For too long, our engagement with the world has followed one script: we export raw materials, we import finished goods, and we borrow at a premium to pay the difference. That script has run its course,” Ruto said.
He called for stronger domestic industries, expanded regional value chains and a united approach to international trade negotiations.
“COMESA offers the world a different conversation: one market speaking with one voice, rather than 21 markets negotiating alone,” he said.
“We seek a new engagement with our partners, rooted in sovereign equality, built on mutual benefit, and measured by shared prosperity. We do not ask to be treated as special. We ask to be treated as equal.”
Ruto questioned Africa’s continued reliance on external financing despite the continent possessing substantial financial resources.
“Africa holds more than four trillion dollars in domestic financial assets. Yet too much of it sits in foreign accounts earning little, while our own projects wait for capital,” he said.
He urged governments to direct more investment through African financial institutions, including the African Development Bank, Afreximbank and the Trade and Development Bank, to finance infrastructure, industrialisation and regional development.
“We cannot ask the world to trust African institutions if we do not trust them ourselves,” Ruto declared.
The Kenyan leader also warned that COMESA’s integration ambitions risked remaining unfulfilled unless member states established reliable mechanisms to finance agreed programmes.
“We cannot be ambitious in our plans and timid in our financing. Every programme we agree upon must be matched by the resources to deliver it. Otherwise, our communiqués will promise what our budgets cannot pay for,” he said.
He called for the accelerated implementation of the COMESA Market Levy under Article 168 of the organisation’s founding treaty and greater mobilisation of public and private capital.
Reviewing his tenure, Ruto reported that COMESA’s regional economic growth increased from 5.6 percent in 2024 to 6.4 percent in 2025, while inflation declined from 31 percent to 13.2 percent.
Total exports rose by six percent to US$212 billion, while trade among member states increased by 10.5 percent to US$14.7 billion, the highest level recorded between 2020 and 2025.
Despite the improvement, intra-COMESA exports accounted for less than seven percent of total exports, highlighting the bloc’s continued reliance on markets outside the region.
“The greatest market for Africa’s goods is Africa,” Ruto said.
He cited progress in regional trade facilitation, including the introduction of electronic certificates of origin in six member states and efforts to harmonise customs systems across COMESA, the Southern African Development Community SADC and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Ruto also highlighted two major development initiatives launched during Kenya’s chairmanship: the €40 million Africa Trade Competitiveness and Market Access Programme and the €42.5 million SWITCH-2-CE programme.
The initiatives are intended to improve access to export markets, promote sustainable production and create opportunities for small businesses, particularly those led by women and young people.
Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, protectionism and disruptions to global supply chains, Ruto said regional integration had become essential to Africa’s economic resilience.
“The world is fragmenting. Our answer must be integration, not fragmentation; cooperation, not isolation,” he said.
“Regional integration is no longer a dream we discuss. It is an economic and strategic necessity.”
As he relinquished the chairmanship, Ruto expressed confidence in Mnangagwa’s leadership and urged member states to translate regional commitments into tangible economic benefits.
“As I hand over the Chair, I do so with full confidence in my dear brother, President Mnangagwa. Under his stewardship, and with the support of every Member State, I trust that we will turn the ambition of One Market, One Future into progress our people can see and feel,” he said.
Ruto thanked Zimbabwe for hosting the summit and acknowledged its contribution as COMESA vice-chairperson during Kenya’s tenure.
The summit is being held under the theme “One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in COMESA.”
Mnangagwa takes over the leadership of the 21-member bloc amid growing pressure to accelerate regional industrialisation, strengthen intra-African trade and secure sustainable financing for development programmes.
