Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has welcomed the East African Business Council (EABC), to work together so as to promote further integration of the bloc.
EALA Speaker, Mr Martin Ngoga Martin underlined the importance of the private sector taking its rightful place in regional integration through the signing of the East African Community (EAC)-EABC Technical Working Group (TWG) that draws its membership from EAC and EABC and is meant to spearhead initiatives that would benefit the private sector in the region.
“We have an obligation under the Treaty as EAC leaders to strengthen the role of the private sector in the integration process. I am afraid that so far, we have not fulfilled this obligation as required of us,” said Mr Ngoga, adding that EALA’s mandate was to provide the legal framework to actualize the aspirations of the people of East Africa.
He noted that EALA works through its six standing committees and called on the EABC to work with all the committees because the private sector is a cost cutting phenomenon.
EABC Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr John Bosco Kalisa said the TWG would identify issues that hinder the free movement of goods in the region and have them resolved on a monthly basis.
In addition to identifying the issues impeding intra-EAC trade, said Mr Kalisa, the TWG should come up with solutions instead of always waiting for the Council and Summit to resolve such matters.
The CEO hailed EALA for putting in place the necessary legal framework to address Non-tariff Barriers (NTBs) through the NTBs Act, 2017.
Among the TWG’s roles and responsibilities are to receive and synthesize issues received from the private sector at various levels and advise on appropriate solutions; create a joint work plan on private sector development and follow up implementation.
Also, it is to make a follow up on agreed interventions for EAC with various stakeholders; generate content for the SG Roundtable and CEO roundtable; generate, coordinate, supervise and report on EAC regional projects related to private sector support.
TWG’s other roles are to: prepare reports and any other relevant documentation for steering committee of the TWG comprised of the SG of the EAC and the Chair of the Board of the EABC and the two co-chairs of the TWG; mobilize resources for activities of the TWG and; any other activities relevant to the mentioned objectives.
EABC is the umbrella body bringing together private sector associations in East Africa; its purpose is to drive the EAC integration process through trade and investment.
To achieve that, EABC works with the public sector, EAC institutions, the academia and the business community to unlock economic potential through increased physical access to markets, enhanced trade environment and improved business competitiveness.
Meanwhile, EAC partner states have begun the 2021/2022 financial year with a focus on economic recovery through industrialization and inclusive growth, taking into account the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the region.
Kenya’s Principal Secretary for EAC, DrKevit Desai, said that the region was putting in place strategies to ensure economic recovery in all partner states from the destructive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a region, we have witnessed the devastation created within the economies of the partner states, including the fall in intra-regional trade, job losses, limited mobility within the region and loss of lives,” said the PS.
Dr Desai said that intra-regional mobility has further been hindered by the Covid-19 mitigation measures that require travellers to have valid test certificates to travel within the region and often times subjected to double testing – before departure and upon arrival at the destination Partner State.
“The ability to travel in the region is also being hindered by the fact that it costs almost US$100 to have a Covid-19 test done, and then in some cases double testing is required upon departure and arrival within the context of OSBPs,“ added Dr. Desai.
On the priorities set forth to spur the region’s economic recovery from Covid-19, the PS disclosed that efforts will be put in place to increase the region’s manufacturing capacity from an average of 6 per cent, as well as promotion of greater intra-regional trade.
“If we do a comparison with other regional economic blocs, for instance in the European Union, their intra-trade stands at 60 per cent, compared to EAC’s 15 per cent. This presents us an enormous potential if we are able to address issues on productivity and efficiency of all factors that facilitate intra-regional trade,” said the PS.
