The Secretary General of East African Community, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera has assured Chief Executive Officers of Private Businesses and Business Leaders/Owners in Tanzania that the governments in the region were determined to do away with non-tariff barriers (NTBs) that continue to present a serious challenge to regional trade and integration in East Africa. He said NTBs account for a significant proportion of the high transportation costs, which are estimated to be 60-70% higher than in the U.S. or Europe, and 30 percent higher than in Southern Africa.

Amb. Sezibera, who was speaking at the breakfast meeting with Tanzania’s Private Sector CEOs and leading Business Owners held on 14 May 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, The Kilimanjaro, said “in March this year, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) passed a law that will compel Partner States to eliminate barriers and end protectionism that had hindered smooth trade. The object of the Bill, which was moved by the Council of Ministers, is to provide a legal mechanism for the elimination of identified non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in Partner States and the Bill now awaits assent by the Summit for it to become operational.

The Secretary General informed his guests that due to the growing portfolio of the EAC projects and programmes, and also in order to diversify the EAC resource base and cut on donor dependency, there was need for the Community to tap into the potential funding from the private sector through the establishment of an EAC Private Sector Fund.

Amb. Sezibera informed Tanzania’s business community that the ongoing initiative to set up a $20 Million EAC Private Sector Fund was to boost the participation of the private sector in the ongoing market integration. “The idea behind the fund is to see how we can ensure that the private sector plays a bigger role in the integration of EAC. The fund will be used to address various challenges facing the private sector within the EAC” disclosed the EAC official.

The Chair of East African Business Council Mr. Felix Mosha commended the Council of Ministers for the appropriate decisions it continues to make towards the improvement of the business environment in the EAC region including the approval of the Consultative Dialogue Framework, which has facilitated consultations with the East African private sector to be institutionalized.

He also commended the East African Legislative assembly for passing the EAC Elimination of Non-Tarrif Barriers (NTB Bill) which is expected to significantly reduce the number of NTBs in the region and enhance the realization of the EAC integration benefits.

The Chair of EABC drew the attention of the Secretary General on a number of outstanding issues that need to be addressed and they include; fast tracking implementation of the Single Custom Territory so that the intended benefits can be realized by removing unfair competition and encourage efficiency and competitiveness in EAC.

There is also the need to strengthen the capacity of the National NTBs Monitoring Committees to enable them conclude their tasks more efficiently for the benefit of all EAC members states.

On the list is also the need to expedite harmonization of domestic, excise, income and value added taxes and harmonization of product standards. The harmonization of product standards at the regional level is very slow and the adoption of approved EAC product standards at national level is very slow and the capacity of institutions charged with this responsibility needs to be enhanced. “It is also important that we work together to develop regional quality mark and an EAC regional technical regulations framework”.

On air transport, the EABC Chair reiterated the urgent need for the Partner States to liberalize the EAC airspace as a matter of urgency to facilitate trade competition in the region. “It is ironic that air fares between EAC capital cities are higher than a round trip between these cities and Dubai or even close to the fare to North America” stated Mr. Mosha.

He urged for the expedition of the adoption and operationalization of the EAC Air Transport Regulations; harmonization of regulatory fees and charges in the region in order to have a level playing field and enhance competition for the air operators in the region; and the provision of national treatment to EAC national air operators, passengers and cargo in all EAC Partner States.

The Chair of EABC urged the Business CEOs and Leaders in the region to actively participate in the first-ever EAC Manufacturers Summit scheduled for September 2015 in Kampala, Uganda. The forum is expected to deliver key recommendations for improving and expanding East Africa’s manufacturing sector through among other measures including strategic linkages with both Agriculture and banking sectors.