Many
Tanzanians, including small and medium entrepreneurs, are not aware of the East
African Community (EAC) and what it has to offer, a survey has indicated.
The
problem is more acute in the southern highland regions, where farmers and crop
traders have little information on markets for their produce.
It
is sometimes easier for local entrepreneurs to trade with Europe than with
neighbouring countries because of lack of information, according to Mr Allan
Nswila, a business consultant based here.
During
a forum convened to discuss challenges facing the bloc, he said the problem has
been compounded by a poor transport network. “Very few Tanzanians know about
the EAC and its potentials for doing business,” he pointed out. “People are
much more aware of markets abroad than those within the region.”
Farmers
in Mbeya, Iringa, Rukwa and Ruvuma regions, for example, were unaware of
opportunities to sell their surplus produce at a time Kenya and parts of
Tanzania were in dire need of food.Transporting maize to regions within the
country that have been afflicted by drought and food shortages has also been
difficult.
“There
are also cases where the government had no money to buy maize when it was
needed in neighbouring regions,” he said during a forum organised by a new
lobby group, Friends of East Africa.The survey, carried out early this year,
also covered small and medium enterprises in the northern regions including
Arusha, where EAC has its headquarters.
Mr
Nswila noted that very few cross-border traders consulted the East African
Business Council and the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture
on matters to do with regional trade.
“Even
in Arusha, some business people do not seem to be aware of the business
potential in neighbouring countries, especially EAC member countries,” he told
an audience at the Arusha City Complex hall.
Other speakers echoed his
sentiments, wondering why the Arusha region authorities appeared indifferent to
the presence of the EAC secretariat in the town.
Dr
Firmin Nguma, a retired public servant, accused the Arusha region, district and
municipal officers of distancing themselves from regional affairs.
“It’s
unfortunate that some people here do not want to get involved in EAC matters,”
he said. “As a result, Tanzania has always been left behind in negotiations on
critical issues on regional integration.”
In
response, EAC Secretary General Richard Sezibera said the secretariat was keen
to work with Arusha authorities to champion the regional integration agenda. He
pointed out, though, that the community comprised five partner states and it
could not dictate terms to Tanzanian officials. He also denied that the EAC was
pushing for land to become an economic asset under the Common Market
Protocol.
Land
was listed among the contentious issues under the Common Market Protocol signed
in November 2009, the others being travel documents and right of residence.
“But these were successfully ironed out by the partner states,” the secretary
general added.
The
EAC boss admitted, though, that there had been fears in Tanzania that the
common market arrangement would arbitrarily open up land to outsiders and
landless people from other East African states. “This is not true,” he
stressed. “Land remains a national issue.”
He
cautioned, however, that Tanzanians would have to put their vast land resources
to full use for economic development of the country. According to the secretary
general, Tanzania can become an economic giant in Africa if it exploits its
vast economic resources such as minerals, natural gas, wildlife, livestock and
arable land.
He
also implored the Tanzanian business community not to fear the economic
dominance of Kenya. There have been economic disparities among the EAC member
states since the early days of the community, he said, and this has been
reflected in education, skills and enterprise development.
A
study conducted three years ago established that issues that needed to be
sorted out to ease the process of integration included improving the way
business is done by fine tuning the customs clearance procedures and
introducing a single currency.
Respondents
in the study commissioned by EAC also wanted service enhanced at border points.
This would involve introducing a 24-hour work schedule, fast clearing services
especially for large trucks and reducing time spent on verifying documents.
They
also asked for freedom of movement of goods by removing border restrictions,
accepting one common EAC identification document and ensuring the same
standards for document verification at all borders. Taxation and non-tariff
barriers also need to be dealt with by ensuring that taxation is standardised
and paid once.
Source:
The Citizen, www.thecitizen.co.tz, reported by Zephania Ubwani
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