Content
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- Background
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is one of the 8 Regional Economic Communities (RECs) recognized by the Africa Union. It consists of twenty-one -member States that have agreed to co-operate and promote regional integration through trade and investment development resources for the mutual benefit of their people. The mission of COMESA is to achieve, over the long term, sustainable economic and social progress in Member States through enhanced cooperation and integration in all fields of development especially in trade, customs and monetary affairs, transport, communications and information, technology, industry and energy, gender, agriculture, environment, and natural resources.
COMESA and the European Union (EU) have signed a Contribution Agreement amounting to €48million financed under the 11 European Development Fund (EDF), for the COMESA Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) which is expected to end in May 2024. This programme is in line with the 11th EDF Regional Indicative Programme (RIP) for Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO) region, the COMESA Treaty and 2021-2025 COMESA Medium-Term Strategic Plans and relevant COMESA trade facilitation policies and instruments. It builds also on existing initiatives at national level in the region to promote and facilitate cross border trade between the countries.
The Trade Facilitation Programme aims to increase intra-regional trade flows of goods, persons and services by reducing the costs/delays of imports/exports at specific border posts through the reduction of NTBs across the borders, the implementation of the COMESA Digital FTA, WTO TFA, the improvement of the Coordinated Border Management (CBM), and the liberalization of trade in services and movements of persons.
The programme identifies five key result areas:
Result 1: Improved monitoring and resolution of NTB’s;
Result 2: Enhanced Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement;
Result 3: Strengthen Coordinated Border Management (CBM) and Trade and Transport Facilitation;
Result 4: Improved levels of implementation of harmonised science based Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary measures and Technical Standards; and
Result 5: Enhanced Trade in Services, free movement of persons, trade negotiations and trade promotions are supported.
Under result 3, the programme encompasses activities to be implemented at the level of the whole COMESA/tripartite region and specific interventions at targeted border posts. The following initial border posts have been selected:
- Lamu Corridor: Moyale (Ethiopia/Kenya)
- Djibouti Corridor: Galafi (Djibouti/Ethiopia)
- Tunduma Nakonde (Tanzania/Zambia)
- Chirundu (Zambia/Zimbabwe); and
- Mwami Mchinji (Zambia/Malawi)
It is for this reason that COMESA and the Federal Republic of Ethiopia signed a Sub-Delegation Agreement in February 2021 for the Upgrade of the Moyale and Galafi Border Post. The programme intends to support the construction of the One Stop Border Post Main Building at Galafi Border (Ethiopian side) to enhance cross border between Ethiopia and Djibouti. It is for this reason that the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) intends to contract the services of a supervising consultant to supervise the construction and post construction works at the Galafi Border Post.
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- Purpose
The purpose of this consultancy is to carry out design review, construction and post construction supervision to final handover for the targeted Galafi One Stop Border Post Main Building (Ethiopia Side).
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- Results to be achieved by the Contractor
The contractor will provide oversight of the construction works and overview of progress, with particular attention to ensuring Construction Contractors’ adherence to the design and construction drawings and specification.