New COMESA Finance Chair Prioritizes Digital Trade
The appointments were announced after leadership changes during the council's annual general meeting on April 30 in Lusaka.
LUSAKA, Zambia -- Dr. Tinashe Manzungu, a prominent infrastructure expert and businessman from Zimbabwe, has been appointed chair of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Business Council, writes AfricaBrief Staff Reporter.
In this role representing the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, Manzungu will oversee the finances and auditing for the business council of the 21 COMESA member states.
The appointments were announced after leadership changes during the council's annual general meeting on April 30 in Lusaka.
"I will be managing all the finances coming in for our activities to make sure they are managed according to expenditure and programs so that all our member states benefit equally," Manzungu said in a statement.
James Mwanza from Malawi was elected as the new COMESA Business Council president.
On the sidelines of the council's 11th board meeting April 29, Manzungu said he is "committed to deliver the best of my ability as COMESA moves towards an inclusive digital system that promotes intra-Africa trade."
Discussions focused on launching a digital payment platform in November to facilitate cross-border transactions and bolster regional trade integration.
"Part of the discussions were on the liberalization of trade in COMESA through involvement of an inclusive digital system that aims at promoting inter-Africa trade through a digital payment platform," Manzungu said.
The council is implementing a Digital Financial Inclusion program to create an "integrated regional digital retail payment scheme that is low-cost, interoperable and fraud resistant" for small businesses, with a focus on women and youth entrepreneurs.
"We have the DFI program which we are putting into action and all that we are doing is putting transparency through compliance so that our funders and donors through the COMESA Treaty know that everything is being done under transparency," Manzungu said.