SACU MINISTERS ‘PETITION’ WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION

MBABANE – SACU ministers responsible for finance as well as trade and industry are concerned about travel ban and restrictions imposed by European countries against travellers in the region.

This follows the detection of the omicron COVID-19 variant. Eswatini is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) alongside Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. After a virtual meeting held this past Thursday, the ministers later released a statement to say the decision to impose travel bans on the region was unfair, irrational, and unscientific. “The travel ban will impact negatively on the economies of the region; undermine the recovery efforts; and further increase poverty and hunger among our people.

“The ban is particularly a crushing blow to our tourism industry and for the many lives and livelihoods that depend on it,” reads the statement.  SACU is calling upon the World Trade Organisation to expedite the decision on the TRIPS waiver that enables its member States to produce vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to mitigate the effects of the pandemic and support the discovery of new variants. In early October last year, India and South Africa presented a proposal to the TRIPS Council requesting a temporary waiver from the implementation, application, and enforcement of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in relation to the prevention, containment, and treatment of COVID-19.

The members of the WTO should therefore not challenge any measures taken in conformity with the provision of the waivers granted or through the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Mechanism. WTO waivers are governed by Article IX of the WTO Agreement. In exceptional circumstances, the Ministerial Conference may decide to waive an obligation imposed on a member, provided that any such decision shall be taken by three fourths of the members unless otherwise provided for.

“We further commended and welcomed the start of Johnson and Johnson vaccination production in the Republic of South Africa that would enable the continent to have access to the COVID-19 vaccines,” said SACU. Meanwhile, over a week ago it was widely reported that all 27 European member States agreed to temporarily suspend travel from seven southern African nations over the outbreak of a new coronavirus variant. The countries affected reportedly included Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, according to diplomatic sources.

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