EAC faces revenue challenges
2009-11-23 Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Nairobi
Resources > By Topic > REGIONAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS > EAC
Temporary loss of revenues is one of the challenges that will face members of the East African Community (EAC) once the bloc’s Customs Union comes into force in January 2010, Rwandan President Paul Kagame has said.
According to President Kagame, EAC member states will require mechanisms to compensate for the short-term revenue losses.
He noted that the most important achievement of the EAC over the past year has been the high-level task force negotiations on the EAC Common Market Protocol that was signed on Friday by the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in Arusha.
The Common Market Protocol marks the passing of East Africa from the stage of individual partner states competing with each other to a region bound together by common interests and aspirations.
President Kagame was giving his farewell speech as the outgoing Chairman of the EAC Summit at the Arusha International Conference Centre.
He handed over to President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania, who will chair the Summit for the next 12 months.
President Kagame urged member states to ensure that the Common Market Protocol is ratified by July 2010.
He said that cooperation in the development of infrastructure and the elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade have helped create an attractive business environment within the region.
Closer cooperation and joint military exercises between defence forces of the EAC member states were meant to enhance peace and security within the region, he said.
President Kagame has embarked on the collective promotion and branding of East Africa as a common investment and tourism destination, citing the East African Investment Conference that was held in Nairobi in July 2009 as a step in the right direction.
He said that the tripartite talks to integrate the EAC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) are progressing well, adding that the talks could result in a market of around 500 million people in the near future.
Published in: Resources > By Topic > REGIONAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS > EAC