Victoria Falls — THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa is proposing a financial rescue package for Zimbabwe to assist reconstruction, Comesa director for investment promotion and private sector Mr Chungu Mwila has said.

He said finance ministers from the regional grouping had already met and discussed the proposal, which would be submitted to the Heads of State and Government tomorrow for consideration.

Mr Mwila said the Comesa secretariat had commissioned a study to see how the member states could come up with the necessary funds to help Zimbabwean companies.

"We are not sitting idle as an organisation," said Mr Mwila in an interview.

"We are working with Zimbabwe as one of our members to see how best we can mobilise funds for the country. Ministers of finance have already met to discuss the proposal," he said.

It was, however, not clear as to how much the regional bloc was prepared to offer.

The inclusive Government has so far raised close to US$1 billion, way below US$8,3 billion which the country requires to fund the Short-Term Emergency Recovery Plan.

The bulk of the funds came from African countries and in the form of credit lines while some Western countries have pledged humanitarian assistance only.

Most Zimbabwean companies are operating below capacity, but Government has projected factory output would rise to levels of around 60 percent by year-end.

The launch of the Comesa Customs Union is envisaged to engender a more predictable economic environment for both investors and traders across the regional bloc, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said while addressing the Comesa business conference, which started yesterday.

"It (the Customs Union) will offer a more predictable economic environment since regionally administered tariffs tend to be stable," said PM Tsvangirai.

He said the Customs Union would help to level the trading field since it imposes uniform customs procedures and external tariffs on goods imported from third countries.

"The Customs Union will, therefore, enable us to grow beyond the free movement of goods and establish the foundations of a single market, where production and marketing decisions at company level are based on commercial reasons and not countries' boundaries," said PM Tsvangirai.