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Sindiso Ngwenya

Molline Gagare Business Reporter
A DELEGATION of technical managers from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa)’s seven Yellow Card Insurance (YCI) membership is in Bulawayo for a two-day meeting to assess the performance of the insurance scheme.

Acting Insurance Council of Zimbabwe executive officer, Sam Samu, yesterday confirmed the meeting which starts today at a city hotel.

He said seven out of the 19 Comesa member countries would attend the meeting to discuss the performance of the Yellow Card Scheme over the last year.

They will also deliberate on investment options for the pool funds, operational manual and budget among other things.

“The technical management committee consists of five countries, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda. Zambia will attend because that’s where the secretariat is based. Tanzania is not a member of Comesa but is a member of the YCI. They’re working on becoming a full time member of Comesa thus they’ll be in attendance,” said Samu.

He said the YCI was established to provide cover for motor vehicles that belong to Comesa member states to pass through the bloc’s borders without difficulty.

“This insurance covers compulsory motor insurance for member countries’ motorists when they visit each other’s countries. If you’re not a member of Comesa and you drive your foreign registered vehicle in Zimbabwe for example, you buy the Motor Insurance Pool Cover that is sold through the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), which is slightly more expensive,” said Samu.

He said the costs of the motor insurance were determined by the type of car that one would be driving, whether it was private or commercial and the duration the car spends in that particular country.

“The costs definitely depend on what type of a vehicle you’ll be using when you enter a foreign country. If one is driving a Toyota Vitz for private use, the costs will be cheaper than a haulage truck that’s for commercial use,” said Samu.

By yesterday afternoon, some delegates had already arrived including Comesa secretary general Sindiso Ngwenya.

Zinara officials will also attend the meeting.