As the COMESA (Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa) summit concluded, and the heads of state and government began leaving Victoria Falls on Monday, they were filled with a sense of achievement that a dream had at last been realized.

Following the summit, a major initiative is reported to be underway: COMESA now aims to have a monetary union by 2015 and a COMESA Community by 2025.

The likelihood of the COMESA initiatives actually coming to fruition? Not likely. Customs Union initiatives have been slowly progressing, meeting multiple obstacles along the way and ultimately, the coherence of COMESA is strikingly similar to the discombobulation of the African Union. Words and handshakes are but gestures meant to appease respective African nations from the threat of further political risk. A lack of basic cooperation through nation interdependence, the same that has caused only 7% of Africa’s natural power sources to be utilized and railroad infrastructure to be a drastically missing element are what hinders and will most likely continue to hinder progress throughout the continent.

For a moment, let us take a look at the Comesa Authority Chair - Robert Mugabe.

I’m not going to divulge any further rants on how politically risky COMESA looks to foreign investors when the regional summit itself had to be postponed for a year to allow Zimbabwe, which was the incoming chair, to sort out her political problems. 

Indeed, representatives at the summit acknowledged, although chalking it up to the economic recession, that foreign direct investment would be a major challenge to be addressed by COMESA representatives.  King Mswati III of Swaziland reminded the summit that ”the reality of the situation is that recession is now knocking on our doors. Foreign direct investment will also shrink drastically and we have to come up with strategies to survive. As COMESA this is a challenge before us. The time to come together is now. If we manage to get our economic communities working together we will be a step closer to achieving what Africa has been advocating - to make Africa a better continent for the benefit of all our peoples“.

Mugabe insists the cost of transport in the regions is very high and that there is a need to invest in road and rail infrastructure and maintenance. I agree. Though there are certain pressing issues that take precedence, like leaders who should be ousted for their Prime Ministers, or epidemics that should be addressed to a greater degree than “arrested“, or indeed conflict prevention to showcase sustainable development, railroad infrastructure means greater sources of power being spread from within Africa, promotes FDI and even free-enterprise throughout the continent.

Excuse my distrust in these initiative bearing fruit. Piracy, Political Corruption and war-torn hotspots sill pose in my eyes a greater domestic threat which could also halt productivity on these strategies going forward. However, I’d like to see them happen from the budgets of the nations involved in COMESA directly and as soon as possible - not purely stemming from foreign aid, which may or may not be utilized to its fullest.