East African Community (EAC) scrutinises expensive air travel

Arusha. Governments within the East Africa will be tasked on the persistent business hurdles in the region during the coming business summit.

Among these are the high cost of doing business due to expensive air travel and communication costs.

“Sometimes it can cost up to $ 1,000 to fly from Bujumbura to Arusha but only a half of that amount to Europe from Arusha,” said the East African Business Council (EABC) executive director Peter Mathuki.

He said the East African Community (EAC) partner states were yet to agree on One Regional Air Space arrangement under which would reduce the cost of flights within the region,among others.

Mr Mathuki said the business sector’s concerns would be raised to the government delegates during the EAC Business and Investments Summit slated for November 28th and 29th.

Officials from the six EAC partner states are among 300 delegates, out of the expected 500, who have confirmed to participate in the two-day meeting organized by EABC.

“The business summit will discuss and address some of the challenges hindering businesses and come up with measures which can effectively fight the hurdles,” he told journalists here last week.

Available statistics, though, indicate that the EAC region registered a modest 5.7 per cent economic growth in 2018.

However, the EABC CEO said protectionist tendencies by some partner states and delays in harmonization and domestication of EAC- agreed decisions and directives have negatively impacted on the trade flows.

The event will bring together leading CEOs, industry champions and regional investors as well as senior EAC officials “to engage in high level policy decisions”

Digital economy, finalization of on-going reviews on the Common External Tariff (CET) and Trade Remedies Committee are other major issues on the agenda.

The chairman of the Arusha chapter of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) Walter Maeda said livestock and livestock market in the bloc have not been fully exploited.

He said some Arusha-based firms have encountered a host of problems in importing broilers and high yielding livestock breeds from neighbouring countries due to red tape