Meet the ‘unsung heroes’ behind trade negotiations

In the lobby of Protea Hotel, Seapoint in Cape Town, South Africa, a gaggle of people surround a young lady as she works on her laptop. It is around 11 p.m. The group from Botswana's Ministry of Trade and Industry are all paying close attention to what she is typing and telling them.

The lady in question is a 'Spoke' for the 'Hub and Spokes' project, which is a joint initiative run by the Commonwealth Secretariat, the European Commission and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, with support from the ACP Secretariat. The project seeks to assist African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries better understand the dynamics of international trade negotiations and in the process enter into trade regimes that are of benefit to their economies.

Sharifa Powell, the lady working the night away on the laptop, is one of the 25 trade policy analysts, or 'Spokes', deployed to different ACP country capitals and six regional trade policy advisers, or 'Hubs', attached to regional integration organisation secretariats in East and Southern Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries, and the African Union Commission.

She was recruited just less than one year ago and posted to Gaborone to support Botswana in its trade policy objectives.

Ms Powell had travelled to Cape Town with a delegation from Botswana led by the Trade Minister, Neo Moroka, to participate in the High Level Technical Meeting on 7 and 8 April 2008 where discussions focused on the implications of the European Union's new trading regime with ACP countries, called the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The new EPAs are expected to form strong ties between ACP and EU countries.

Need for technical expertise

One of the challenges many Commonwealth ACP countries face in these trade negotiations is the lack of enough technical expertise to help them unravel the complexities involved in the negotiation processes.

After completing her masters degree in international trade in Barbados, Ms Powell worked with the Caribbean Regional Negotiation Machinery, before heading down to Botswana for her posting at the Ministry of Trade.

Her contribution to understanding trade policy issues is well recognised by officials in Botswana.

"We are very happy and pleased with what the 'spoke' has been doing. She has helped us a lot to unravel the difficult and complex technical issues to translate them into a layman's language," says Banny Molosiwa, the Permanent Secretary of Trade and Industry of Botswana.

"She has also helped us to analyse and advise us on our trade negotiation positions. Because of the absence of such critical skilled personnel in the country, we have found ourselves making Ms Powell almost become a jack of all trades, advising us on any trade-related issues. But we would now like her to concentrate on imparting skills to our trade officials so that their capacity is enhanced."

Ensuring trade benefits the 'common man'

Ms Powell states that her driving motivation is to make sure that trade benefits the 'common man'. She says that coming from Jamaica, another developing country, a number of the issues, challenges and environment were related to a great degree, and as such, she found it easy to fit into the system and make a contribution.

"I also found the people in the ministry very welcoming and committed to trade issues - and in the process, I found myself getting along into the loop of the issues," Ms Powell added.

According to Nimrod Waniala, the programme manager from the Commonwealth Secretariat, the project, which forms part of the European Commission's Trade.Com Facility, seeks to promote the effective participation of ACP countries in international trade negotiations and to strengthen their capacity to formulate and implement trade policies.

The 'Hub and Spokes' project has three main components:

• Training and sensitisation of key stakeholders in ACP countries on major trade policy issues in order to enhance their ability to engage effectively in trade negotiations.

• Supporting ACP countries in the establishment of multi-stakeholder trade negotiation and consultative networks at national and regional levels to be actively used to define trade policy and negotiation positions.

• Supporting ACP countries in the analysis of trade data to inform negotiating positions, backstopping negotiations and in the implementation of trade policies.

In recognition of the role played by the project, Botswana's Ministry of Trade and Industry would like Ms Powell's contract extended until the country has built its own capacity even further.

"The kind of support provided through the project is very critical to our understanding and informed participation in international trade negotiations. Because our Department of International Trade has been in operation for just four years, we are still trying to develop capacity. We need more technical assistance of this type," said Ms Molosiwa.

Secretariat Links:

• Hub and Spokes
• Country Profile: Botswana