A recent news article in the East African showed that trade between the three main East African Community (EAC) countries has not shown the growth that was anticipated four years after the signing of the East African Community Customs Union Protocol. The business community has blamed slow integration of cross-border controls and specifications, overlapping and conflicting regulations, and a general lack of high level inter-governmental coordination that would result in the true benefits of the Custom Union. All Unions have teething problems, some such as the EU took decades to reach consensus. Do we have that luxury in East Africa? Can we afford to wait?
1 comment:
No E. Africa can't afford to wait. Perhaps more needs to be done to educate the public and business communities are the advantanges of such a trading bloc. Also have governments done all they can to stimulate and facilitate the growth of trade between the countries? Some countries are ready to embrace this exchange, others are terrified their home territory will be overrun with foreigners. There must be a joint efforts by the 3 govts to educate, facilitate, and provide incentive to stimulate this necessary trade. East Africa has the advantage of having 2 major ports, 1 international hub (Nairobi-2nd to Johannesburg in the Africa region) and a plethora of international oppportunities. The road networks in Tanzania are excellent and in Kenya, relatively decent. These are all advantages that the region must capitalize on.
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