ADOPTION of the 35 percent as the 4th band of East African Community (EAC) Common External Tariff (CET) by partner states will promote industrialization and boost intra- regional trade and investments. Chairperson of the East African Business Council (EABC) Angelina Ngalula Chairperson of the East African Business Council (EABC) Angelina Ngalula made the statement over the weekend when addressing the 8th meeting of the EABC board in Dar es Salaam. Ngalula outlined priorities set to boost intra-EAC trade and investments as she lauded the council’s secretariat for championing the adoption of 35 percent as the EAC CET 4th band. She said the board is steadfast in steering high-level policy advocacy through dialogue with the EAC Heads of State to unlock non-tariff barriers (NTBs), restrictions to free movement of services, double taxation, open skies, telecommunications and infrastructure development to boost intra-regional trade and economic resilience amid the global crisis. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) — global food price index of cereals, meat, and dairy rose by 26 percent whereas half of the countries in the Eastern Africa sub-region are net food importers. The situation makes the countries extremely vulnerable to higher global food and energy prices, rising inflation and food insecurity in the EAC bloc. The board urged the EAC Council of Ministers to fast track finalization of the regional local content policy and ratification of Article 24(2) of the Protocol on the Establishment of the Customs Union to operationalise the trade remedies committee...

DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Burundian Vice-President Prosper Bazombanza has called on member states of the East African Community (EAC) to join forces in promotion of tourism in the region, the EAC said in a statement late Saturday. The statement issued in Tanzania's northern city of Arusha said Bazombanza also urged the member states to work together in standardization of tourism services and management of tourism resources if they are to realize the full potential of the sector in the region. Bazombanza made the appeal when he officially opened the 2nd EAC Tourism Expo on behalf of Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye in the capital Bujumbura. Although EAC member states are benefitting significantly from tourism through its contribution to the gross domestic product, foreign exchange earnings, creation of jobs and the potential for the sector across the region remains largely untapped, he said. "Application of common standards in the region will enable us enhance our competitiveness as a single tourism destination," he said. According to the EAC, the tourism expo slated for Sept. 23 through Sept. 30 is expected to attract over 250 exhibitors from over 10 countries, 120 international and regional travel agents and buyers as well as 2,500 trade visitors. The main objective of the tourism expo is to promote EAC as a single tourism destination. The theme for the 2022 EXPO is "Rethinking Tourism for Social Economic Development in the East African Community." The EAC member states are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic...

The EABC-EASSI-TMA launched an EABC-TMA capacity building workshop to improve knowledge of over 50 women cross-border traders and youth on EAC simplified trade regime and exchange their experiences early this week  in Kigali-Rwanda John Bosco Kalisa, CEO of EABC explained that during the EABC’s public-private dialogues with trade facilitation agencies at single border crossings, cross-border women traders requested the establishment of storage and childcare facilities, cross-border markets and Scarp Off Issuance Fees for the EAC Simplified Certificate of Origin to facilitate their daily work. He urged that the maximum cargo value threshold under the EAC simplified trade regime, which is USD 2,000, be raised to USD 5,000 so that more trade can take place. “This EABC-TMA capacity building workshop will provide an update on the EAC Simplified Trade Regime and allow youth and women in cross-border trade to share their experiences on the usefulness of the trade regime. ” said John Bosco Kalisa, CEO of EABC.   For his part, Mr. Dennis Karera, Vice President of the East African Business Council (EABC), said that EABC is committed to advocating for an effective East African Community (EAC) simplified trade regime for trade that reflects the realities on the ground. He cited the fact that more than 40,000 cross-border traders, mostly women, use the small barrier between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He further urged the youth ambassadors and women cross-border traders to familiarize themselves with customs procedures and to pass on their knowledge to their counterparts in their associations...

Summary EABC studies and engagements show that harmonisation of standards significantly contributed to intra-EAC trade, competitiveness and protection of consumers and the environment and overall trade facilitation. Dar es Salaam. Some 1,882 standards have been designated for harmonisation in a renewed drive to bolster trade within the East African Community (EAC) bloc. However, the slow speed of harmonisation is said to have been impeding trade among EAC member states. Intra-EAC trade has remained static at 15 percent of the total trade with the rest of the world in recent years, according to official data. Only 31.9 percent of standards that have been designated for harmonisation in the region have been harmonised, some partially. This was revealed yesterday during a regional public and private sector consultative engagement on standards organised by the East African Business Council (EABC). Mr Frank Dafa, the EABC manager for policy, standards and non-tariff barriers (NTBs), said out of 1,882 standards that were lined up for harmonisation, over 600 have been harmonised, albeit partially. “They have been harmonised by between 65 and 90 percent,” said Mr Dafa when giving his opening remarks on behalf of EABC hief executive John Bosco Kalisa. He said the harmonisation process was still impeded by several challenges, including NTBs and low adoption. “The importance of standards in trade cannot be overemphasised,” Mr Dafa said. “Where standards have not been harmonised, significant differences have emerged between national standards within the regional economic communities (RECs), thus creating major impediments to trade for producers and traders.”...

East African states have been urged to for fast-tracked harmonisation of East African Standards to aid trade in the region. Speaking during an engagement in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania over the weekend, private sector players said the move will significantly contribute to the growth of intra-regional trade, competitiveness, protection of consumers& environment and overall trade facilitation. Evidence shows harmonization of standards has increased intra-trade by 10 per cent, reduced inspection and clearance costs at the border from $500 to $400 and clearance days from 10 days to 0.5 days. A total of 624 indigenous standards have been adopted by the EAC partner states and a total of 1880 standards have been earmarked for harmonisation at the EAC level. Other notable reforms include: the establishment of the Regional Standards Plan (RSP) and an Online catalog of harmonised standards has been developed since 2021. The National Standards Bureaus in the EAC Partner States are at different levels of harmonisation of standards ranging from 65 per cent to 90 per cent. More specifically Burundi and South Sudan have significant administrative and capacity challenges and hence have noted the adoption of harmonised East African Standards. East African Business Council (EABC) CEO  John Bosco Kalisa urged partners to Fast-tracking the adoption of the Standardisation, Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (SACA) Bill. ''This will facilitate frequent peer reviews, creating awareness and on East African Standards and involve the private sector in the development of the standards,'' Kalisa. Manufacturers have further called for a demand-driven and low-cost approach...

The forum will provide a platform for heads of EAC organs and institutions to enhance awareness and understanding of the various commitments in the integration pillars and the governing instruments that are in place at the EAC level to DRC government officials.  The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General Dr. Peter Mathuki is set to lead a delegation comprising the Heads of EAC Organs and Institutions and eminent regional business leaders to the bloc’s newest partner state, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from September 6 - 9. The EAC maiden mission to Kinshasa aims at enhancing awareness among DRC government officials on the existing EAC instruments, creating trade synergies, exploring and building business partnerships and immediate linkages for business associations. The four-day mission will kick off with a two-day forum amongst DRC Government officials and the EAC Secretariat, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) as well as the eight institutions of the Community. The forum will provide a platform for heads of EAC organs and institutions to enhance awareness and understanding of the various commitments in the integration pillars and the governing instruments that are in place at the EAC level to DRC government officials. “This forum will create a platform to enhance understanding by DRC government officials on the EAC integration instruments such as protocols, laws, policies and strategies,” Dr. Mathuki said. The DRC delegation will be led by DRC’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen’Apala. On September 8 and...

The East African Community (EAC) has reaffirmed its commitment to infrastructure development aimed at boosting intra-regional trade and free movement of persons across the organization’s seven member states, the EAC said in a statement late Monday. The statement issued by the EAC headquarters in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha said the commitment was made by the EAC Deputy Secretary General Steven Mlote in charge of Planning, Infrastructure, Finance and Administration when he held talks with Tanzanian parliamentarians. Mlote assured the visiting delegation from Tanzania’s parliamentary committee responsible for Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of the EAC’s readiness to implement various infrastructure projects coordinated jointly by the EAC secretariat and member states. The parliamentary committee was on a one-day working visit to the EAC headquarters over the weekend, said the statement. The EAC member states are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Enditem Read original article

EAC economic experts have called for the finalization of regulations on Mutual Recognition of Academic and Professional Qualifications and a roadmap for the removal of restrictions to boost trade in services in the EAC bloc. Under the Common Market Protocol, EAC Partner States made commitments to liberalize seven priority service sectors including, Business, Communications, Distribution, Education, Financial, Tourism and Travel and Transport. Speaking at the Virtual Launch of the EABC Barometer on Trade in Services in the EAC, John Bosco Kalisa, EABC CEO, elaborated that legally all restrictions in the liberalised seven service sectors that were maintained by EAC Partner States in their schedule of commitment should have been removed by December 2015. EABC Barometer shows professional services of Legal, Accounting & Auditing Engineering have the highest number of restrictions at 35. Mr. Kalisa said “The EABC Barometer shows a very positive trend, as EAC Partner States have committed to liberalise 92 new sub-sectors under the revised schedule of progressive commitment.”  This lays the foundation to build an integrated EAC services market and will result into commercially meaning-full trade of services in the EAC bloc once implementation commences, Mr. Kalisa explained The new sub-sectors added are in key sectors like business services (37); transport services (36) and financial sector (10), which are all critical as key sectors in their own right and as intermediate inputs in the manufacture of goods and production of other services. EAC Partner States were also urged to adopt the One Network Area on telecommunication as...

Summary The EABC Business Barometer is an index that captures the sentiment of the business stakeholders about how they see the business environment within the EAC. Businesses in Burundi, Kenya and Uganda reported reduced cost of doing business during the pandemic. Business captains in the region are optimistic that business in the East African Community bloc will increase by 11 per cent in 2022 and 2023. The East Africa Business Community Barometer on Business and Investment links the slight optimism to perception of business owners on the effectiveness of measures introduced by governments in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Several states imposed key discretionary actions and policies in 2020 and 2021 to limit the human and economic impact of the pandemic. In Kenya, for instance, a package of tax measures was adopted, including full income tax relief for persons earning below Sh24,000  per month and reduction of the top pay-as you earn rate from 30 to 25 per cent, There was also a reduction of the base corporate income tax rate from 30 to 25 per cent, reduction of the turnover tax rate on small businesses from three to one per cent, and a reduction of the standard VAT rate from 16 to 14 per cent. These conditions, according to business owners, plus other loan flexibility policies, contributed a large extent of the growth. The EABC Business Barometer is an index that captures the sentiment of the business stakeholders about how they see the business environment within the EAC. It shows the...

“A verification Committee undertook a verification mission to the Partner States that have applied to host EAMI, to verify their suitability, and compiled a report that will be tabled before the 42nd Meeting of the Council of Ministers scheduled for later this month,” said the Secretary General. Deepening economic integration, strengthening regional peace and security mechanisms, and implementing the road map for the attainment of the EAC Monetary Union are some of Dr. Peter Mathuki’s key priorities in steering the regional integration agenda in the next year. The EAC Secretary General underscored these priorities during a virtual forum dubbed ‘State of the EAC Forum - SG’s 1 year in office’ seeking to share the progress, achievements, and challenges of the EAC in the last year, and the way forward. The Secretary General listed the admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into the bloc, adoption of 35% as the Fourth Band of the EAC Common External Tariff and resolution of 23 pressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) among the key achievements the Community registered during the last year. “On 12th November 2021, the EAC Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) finalized and adopted the review of the EAC Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers Act, 2017 and referred it to the EAC Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs for legal scrubbing,” noted Dr. Mathuki. Further, he said that five EAC Partner States had launched their own Trade Information Portal (TIP). The portals map out all imports, exports and transit procedures, including fees and time in the respective...