REMARKS BY MR. NICK NESBITT, EABC CHAIRMAN
DURING THE 20TH ORDINARY SUMMIT OF EAC
HEADS OF STATE HELD
IN ARUSHA TANZANIA
DATE: FRIDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2019
Thank you Chairman, Your
Excellencies,
If I may in the spirit of being brief let me say
all protocols observed.
I had a very long speech but again in terms of
being brief let me say a few words.
I would like to appreciate, first of all, the work
done in the last few days in addressing some of the issues in particular
Non-Tariff barriers.
My board who is up here from the East African
Business Council we have had very intense deliberation around what is going to
take to be successful in East Africa.
And I think if a really get into the heart of it,
it is ensuring we think regional before we think national, that is very
difficult in the heat of the moment, I know private sector influences trade
policies selfishly.
As East African Business Council we want to bring
an East African perspective we think it is shameful that 150 million people who
wear shoes have to buy shoes in particularly used ones from other parts of the
world.
We think it is shameful that some of the able manufacturers of garments can sell to Mercy
and Marks & Spencer and other
companies for 7 dollars per garment and three or four years later we wear the same used garments and pay
a similar price.
In the
meantime in Burundi Uganda Tanzania, Kenya we allow our cotton industries to
degrade our ginneries to rust and our production to disappear and then we
say let's be manufacturers let be producers and simply we turn into
traders.
As East African Business Council, we are paying a
lot of attention to this drive to produce; we want to be producers of value; we
don’t want to be traders.
There is a role for traders, there is a role for
traders, but let’s manufacture!
On that particular note, it is also very important
we have spent a lot of time with our ministers of foreign affairs in Kenya and
many others in Tanzania and we are talking about the need of regional value
chains.
If Kenya, for example, is going to manufacture or
assemble, let me say German vehicles in Thika.
Why can we have tires from Tanzania, exhaust pipes
from Uganda, dashboards from Burundi, so this becomes an East African car, not
just a Kenyan car?
If Scania does that in Dar es Salaam let it be the
same thing.
I promise you, legislators, these sticky things
called Non-Tariff Barriers will drop when that truck made by which ever company
reaches in Namanga border, the immigration and customs officials will say “hii
ni yetu.”
Your
Excellencies,
Our vision for the private sector is let
the track rumble through Namanga border
without stopping we will use the technology
we will ensure things are done properly.
It is a shame again that waste the resources that
we have the intellectual property of our youth the industrial drive of our
entrepreneurs by limiting them to national borders let us be free at last.
Local investors can get economies of scale
additionally Foreign investors can see EA for what it is , 150 million people market.
We employ and urge as we as private sector get a
seat at the table we have been observers for a long time proverbial stance and
come into the field and help in the formulation of trade policies and we want
to participate our heart is at the same place.
We are here to create jobs, create wealth, and
uplift our people from poverty. Let us be free at last!
Your Excellencies,
As stipulated under Article 7 of the EAC
Treaty, our integration is people centered, market driven and private sector
led thus ensuring sustainability of our economies in the region. This provides
us an opportunity to strengthen our partnership with governments and other
stakeholders in furthering our regional integration.
Your Excellencies,
As
a community, we stand proud that EAC is the fastest integrating regional bloc
in the African continent according to the latest report by the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). This is due to the important
role played by the private sector.
Your Excellencies,
To
fulfill our mandate and contribution to this community, EABC in partnership
with TradeMark East Africa are working to reduce trade barriers and improve
business competitiveness through Public Private Dialogues in the following
areas; Transport and Logistics, Trade Facilitation, Customs and Tax, Standards
and SPS.
Further,
we are currently in partnership with International Trade Centre, Geneva we are
building capacity of over 100 experts on trade facilitation from each EAC
Partner State. Further, we shall in collaboration with GIZ and Nelson Mandela
Institute of Science and Technology to offer over 50 scholarships to the best
students in the region in the area of Information Technology.
EABC
in collaboration with GIZ is also facilitating growth of SMEs in our region by
matching them with their counterparts in Germany and other parts of the world
for transfer of technology and best practice to the region.
Your Excellencies,
EABC
will continue to play our role in strengthening the role of private sector in
regional integration; however we shall need support and cooperation from the
governments to continue being strong partners but not observers.
Your Excellencies,
The
Intra EAC trade is currently only at 20% far below SADC which is at 47% and EU
at 68%. Further, intra EAC trade is showing declining trend since 2014. All
these is attributed to Non Tarrif Barriers which we are happy is part of the
agenda in this 20th Heads of State Summit. We shall be happy to offer
Partnership where required to solve them. Your strong intervention is now very
necessary.
Your Excellencies,
Other
challenges include non-implementation of directives/decisions taken at the
regional level by respective Partner States. With consistent political goodwill
and vigor, we shall continue to grow as a community.
Your Excellencies,
As
private sector, we encourage other neighbouring countries to join this
community as to remain a formidable economic block. We are aware Ethiopia with
a huge market and DR Congo are possible candidates to this community.
Your Excellencies,
In
conclusion, we seek your support to offer EABC the necessary environment such
as a Headquarter agreement, which will allow us access to diplomatic status for
ease of our operations. We appeal and shall continue engaging with the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, East African, Regional and International Cooperation
in the United Republic of Tanzania to fast track this process.
I would like to
thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak to you today.
I thank you.
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