The African Corridor Management Alliance recently met in Addis Ababa to examine its legal framework.
Barbara Mommen, CEO, from the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI) attended on the invitation of the Africa Trade policy Centre, “The prime objective for the establishment of the Alliance is to create a sound framework for the implementation of the envisaged Continental Free Trade Area; an AU initiative to fast track inter Africa trade and development.” “The issues which the Alliance pays attention to are the deepening of regional integration, the fostering of corridor competitiveness and the improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of trade corridors on the continent.” “An interim committee has been established which includes corridor representation from the five Regional Economic Communities in Africa. This committee is chaired by Johny Smith of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCD) which will represent the interests of all corridor management institutions in the SADC region on the Board of the Alliance.” The African Corridor Management Alliance will be formalized as soon as the legal framework has been approved by the founding members who are the WBCG, Dar Es Salaam Corridor, Northern Corridor, Abidjan Lagos Corridor, and the MCLI. The intention is for the legal framework to be finalized towards the end of October 2013. The MCLI has endeavoured to provide more information on the process of formalizing the Alliance once the legal framework has been finalized. Mommen concludes, “The MCLI sees the benefits in the formation of this institution. Our immediate concern, though, is the cost implications of such an institution and these concerns will form part of our continued interaction with UN ECA and the ATPC.” The envisaged functions of the African Corridor Management Alliance include the following:•Collaboration and information sharing
•Promotion and exchange of best practices •Capacity building •To inform policy formulation •To identify and respond to the financial needs of corridors •To identify and respond to the technical needs of corridors •Monitoring, evaluation and peer review
