vi) Efforts be made to ensure equality in treatment of all beneficiaries without regard to the type of business that they do, and socio-status. vii) Member countries in collaboration with COMESA Secretariat should compile directories or compendium and conduct a social audit of what is available. viii) The Fund Manager should propose a monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure equity in terms of Member States benefiting from the Fund. ix) The apex level, in conjunction with the Fund Manager, should negotiate with partner financial intermediaries on issues regarding the interest rates to be charged and other fees; and x) Negotiate favourable interest rates intermediary financial institutions. with (e) The project should involve other partners such as the International Labour Organisations, (ILO) ministries of finance, and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as implementing partners; and (f) The COMESA Secretariat should engage the Government of Japan and other partners through their embassies and share their experiences on how trading houses operate in Japan with a view to securing their support and where possible to arrange a study visit for the ministers to trading houses in Japan. Engendering Climate Change in the COMESA region Decisions 26. Council made the following decisions: the (a) The COMESA Secretariat, in collaboration with Member States, should conduct sensitization programmes for women on climate change since more women are working in agriculture; The COMESA Trading House Project (b) The COMESA Secretariat, in collaboration with Member States, should review and analyse the policies and regulations and the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) from a gender perspective; Decisions 25. Council made the following decisions: (a) Member States should implement the Trading House Project by 2014; (b) The Secretariat should undertake appraisal of functionality of the trading houses in Member States; (c) The COMESA Secretariat and Member States should include women in the design and implementation of the agriculture and climate change programmes; the (d) Noted the executive brief on the regional strategy on gender mainstreaming in agriculture and climate change; and requested the Secretariat to circulate the finalised document by the second week of October 2011. (c) Member States who are ready to establish trading houses could proceed with the activity; (d) Policy formulation should take place simultaneously with the establishment of a trading house; 11