RISM Indicators – COMESA Aid For Trade (COMAid)

The RISM indicators or targets are drawn from the COMESA Treaty and decisions of the Policy Organs. The indicators were selected on the basis of those programmes that were considered ‘Member State ready’. This meant the programmes had been adopted at the regional level and required member States to domesticate and implement them at the national level.

The RISM requirements address a subcomponent of the more comprehensive regional requirements. This is because RISM is limited in time and also does not extend itself to implementation that may be beyond a countries responsibility. For instance, on trade in services, the requirement at the regional level is to have final schedules following negotiation among countries. However, under RISM, the requirement is the submission of draft schedules that would then be available for negotiation. This is because the pace of regional level negotiations lies outside any one countries actions or interventions.

The performance assessment, aims to give an overall achievement against the targets set by member States. this draws on the results highlighted in countries RIIP progress monitoring reports and the assessment reports that are approved by the COMESA Fund or RAC committee. The assessment also recognized the results achieved at the national level through the budget or projects supported by RISM allocations. This includes activities that are directly linked to achievement of RISM indicators that were explicitly targeted in the PAF or/and identified for project implementation. In this manner, the report gives a consolidated view against the envisaged results of the RISM programme which is to achieve improved implementation of regional programmes at the national level.

The section leaves out two indicators namely: number of documents to export ( Indicator 7 ) and number of documents to import (Indicator 8). This is because there were removed from the RISM indicators list due limitations in the framework used for their performance assessment.