EABC to up intra-regional trade by 40 percent in 5 years

Dar es Salaam. Business leaders in East Africa want intra-regional trade to be increased to at least 40 percent within the next five years.

This, they argued, should be realised through deliberate strategies that would foster cross border businesses such as harmonization of trade procedures.

The East African Business Council (EABC), an apex body of private sector associations in the region which organised the forum, says it is keen to see the region becoming a leading trade and investment destination.

"The region (through the East African Community bloc) should develop strategies and programmes to foster an increase in intra-EAC trade to 40 percent," it said in a communique.

Other measures proposed include prioritisation of trade and investment regulations and policies within the EAC to facilitate promotion of the bloc as a single investment destination.

The regulatory agencies in the seven nation economic union should enhance coordination and cooperation for consistent implementation of trade and investment regulations.

Funding should be prioritized for the development of cross border trade infrastructure projects in order to reduce trade barriers and improve regional connectivity.

Illicit trade and corruption should be combated through strengthening cooperation between revenue/customs authorities while promoting intra-regional trade.

In the same vein, the EAC partner states should accelerate public-private partnerships to encourage investments and at the same time develop robust legal frameworks and investor protection mechanisms.

The Kampala forum kicked off on Thursday last week with the EAC member countries challenged to increase focus on manufacturing in order to boost growth.

Manufacturing would also enable the bloc to trade effectively under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

Uganda first deputy prime minister Rebecca Kadaga said deliberate measures must be taken to put more efforts into industrial production for the production of export goods.

In order to successfully boost manufacturing, the governments should work closely and incorporate both the public and the private sectors. The two-day business summit was organised by the East African Business Council (EABC), the EAC secretariat and other partners. Currently the contribution of manufacturing to the region's GDP is estimated at 8.9 percent, far below the average target of about 25 percent of all states.

Incidentally, the partner states in the seven nation bloc have set for themselves the mentioned target by the end of this year.

The industrial sector would not only increase exports but also create jobs and stimulate other sectors like agriculture and related value chains.

The bloc's Industrialisation Strategy (2021-2023) aims to enhance productivity for wealth creation, improved incomes and standard of living.

EABC executive director John Bosco Kalisa said sustainable industrialisation was key for regional growth as are the digital economy and technical innovations.