One Kenyan Voice: Trade Talks Challenge African Negotiators
By Nicholas Sabwa
This article is taken from Bread for the World Institute's 2003 annual report on the state of world hunger, Agriculture in the Global Economy. Download the section below in pdf 
or order the entire report from our online store.
As the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) negotiator for Kenya, my experiences participating in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiation meetings are typical of many African trade negotiators. Sometimes we feel unprepared due to difficulties encountered in collecting information and generating clear country positions on various trade issues. Because we lack the interpersonal and political skills needed for the negotiating process, our efforts can be greatly constrained, leading more often than not to reactionary and ineffective responses.
If we are to participate well in these trade talks and achieve the goals of increasing market access and improving global trading rules, then African countries urgently need to assess their training and equip negotiators with the skills they need.
Most negotiators are government officers. Often, the private sector is left out of the process even though the negotiations greatly affect them. Governments should engage the private sector and agriculture commodity experts in these discussions to help facilitate and, where appropriate, lead negotiations.
Institutions also should be created to encourage collaboration. For example, in Kenya both government officials and private sector representatives work together as part of the country’s National Committee, where they explore the full economic implications of WTO agreements. This committee examines how agreements could impact various national industries and sectors, while also reviewing Kenya’s trade policy agenda and commitments in accordance with the global trading rules.
The committee is comprised of a number of subcommittees (“focal points”) that deal with the different WTO agreements. In addition to developing experience and expertise, participants help implement related WTO agreement provisions and coordinate future negotiations. I relied on these committees tremendously in my work as the AoA negotiator.
Unfortunately, participating in negotiations also can be quite expensive. Most African countries have not been able to send negotiators to Geneva regularly, if at all. Even when negotiators are sent, sometimes countries can afford to send only one negotiator who cannot attend concurrent negotiating sessions. Many times, I missed key Geneva meetings due to lack of funds for travel. Fortunately, Kenya has a Geneva-based trade officer who follows up on the meetings in case no one attends from the capital. African countries that do not have diplomatic missions in Geneva are not as lucky.
High staff turnover and transfer rates – often because countries cannot afford to pay their negotiators competitive wages – also have eroded African negotiating teams’ experience and consistency. African countries should review their terms of service for public employees – all negotiators are public service employees – in an effort to retain experienced trade negotiators.
Speaking With One Voice
African countries also need to fuse their interests so they can speak as one voice during negotiations. Countries could identify their arguments on key trade concerns in position papers that are shared at regional consultations prior to the negotiation meetings. These meetings then could synthesize everyone’s thoughts into African positions.
In the ongoing Doha, Qatar, negotiations, Africa has decided to consolidate its negotiating proposals into one African position, making it even more crucial for African countries to participate in various procedural meetings. While this is a step in the right direction, effective participation in today’s multilateral trading system will require African countries to invest and commit themselves to the process and allocate the resources needed in these negotiations.
Moreover, developed countries should assist and support African countries in such efforts, so that developing countries are better able to approach negotiations primed and focused.
Nicholas Sabwa is a Kenyan economist and trade policy analyst who also represented Kenya in WTO Agreement on Agriculture negoatiations.
