Tanzania's Foreign Affairs minister Prof Kabudi calls for equitable EAC

Arusha. Tough talking Foreign Affairs minister Palamagamba Kabudi was in his true element yesterday when he called for equity in the East African Community (EAC) bloc.

He strongly appealed to the regional leaders to address imbalances which may cause mistrust among the partner states and retard joint efforts for integration.

He said countries which are economically weak should be assisted to catch up by those which are better off to balance the development.

‘’If a country is lagging behind, it should be assisted in one way or another to catch up with others,’’ he said when he opened the EAC Business and Investments Summit.

The minister said inequity in resource allocation and trade imbalances were among the causes of mistrust and disharmony among the EAC in the 1960s and 1970s.

This eventually led to the break up of the EAC in 1977 after each of the then three member states - Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya - went its own way.

Prof. Kabudi challenged the EAC technocrats not to expect ‘too much’ from some member states which were short of adequate resources.

“If a country does not have industries what do you expect it to sell or offer to the regional market,” he asked when opening a well attended summit at Gran Melia hotel.

He assured the business delegates, include CEOs from the corporates from around the region and beyond, that Tanzania was firmly committed to EA economic integration.

He downplayed assertions that Tanzania was not wholly committed to the EAC ideals as was alleged during the lengthy negotiations for the EAC Common Market a decade ago.

“EAC integration is not a matter of choice but necessity,” he affirmed calling on the six nation bloc to invest appropriately in skills development for its youth.

EAC Council of Ministers chairperson and Rwanda Foreign Affairs minister Vincent Biruta said improved transport infrastructure will enhance the flow of investments into the region.

He said failure by the bloc to adopt an Open Air Policy has made air travel in the region expensive, making the cost of doing business high.

Nicholas Nesbitt, the chairperson of the East African Business Council (EABC) challenged the EA governments to stop ‘soft peddling’ on trade issues.

“This is the time for hard talk. Let us tell the world how we are going to do business”, he said, decrying failure to eliminate the remaining trade barriers.

The two-day conference has been organized to discuss the state of businesses/trade and investments into the EA and make the region a leading investment destination.