EABC pursues a people centered and private sector driven integration
By Emmanuel Kanamugire
For the East African Community integration to be successful it has to be private sector driven and people centered, the Vice Chairman of the East African Business Council, Dennis Karera has said ahead of the High Level East Africa Business and Investment Summit.
The summit which is organized in collaboration of the EAC, EABC through its National Focal Points in the Partner States and the respective investment agencies, is scheduled to take place on 28th -29th November 2019, Arusha, Tanzania.
The East African Business & Investment Summit aims to undertake an audit of achievements, impediments, prospects of the EAC regional integration process in light of the Customs Union, Common Market Protocol, and Monetary Union, and global and continental developments.
It will come up with recommendations to be submitted to the EAC Council of Ministers for Directives aimed at turning policy into practice in a bid to facilitate and increase cross border & Foreign Direct Investments in the EAC and improve intra-EAC trade and exports outside the region.
“As the EAC marks 20 years of regional integration process, we are going access where we stand in terms of trade and investment as a region and each country member of EAC, challenges we are facing and ways to overcome them”, Karera said while speaking at a press conference on November 20, 2019 in Kigali.
“The EABC started to quicken the EAC integration, so for it to be successful, it has to be people centered and private sector driven” he added.
The EABC as a private sector organ of the country members of EAC and its observer, it works directly with the Councils of Ministers, the EAC Legislative Assembly, Ministers of Trade and the Heads of States, whenever there are challenges, burdens or any matter affecting trade, Karera explained.
Today insecurity in the region, expensive flight tickets due to high taxes on air travel, disappearance of containers of goods into ports and other Non-tariff barriers are among the impediments of trade, however intervention of EABC is limited to advocacy.
“Our key role is advocacy to the high level; we are not politicians, if there are issues affecting trade, what we do is showing the benefits and losses and telling politicians to fix them.”
Among the achievements of the EABC in journey of 20 years, there is free movement of people and goods within the region, access to financial services across the region, quick movement of containers, harmonization of standards, one network area initiative and single tourist visa.
The East African Business Council is the regional apex body of Private Sector associations and corporates in the East Africa with a single purpose of driving the East African Community integration process through trade and investment. It started in July 2000; country members of EAC rotate in chairing he council for a period of two years. Today Kenya holds the chair.
