BY BUSINESS REPORTER
EAST African Community Governments should speed up establishment of a single regional Customs Authority so as to remove Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) in the region.
The Chairperson of the Summit of the EAC Heads of State, Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza said NTBs have not only inhibited development and raised the cost of doing business; they have also acted as an impediment to the Customs Union and Common Market Protocols.
Nkurunziza asked members of East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) to scale up monitoring so as to tackle the issue of the customs authority.
Establishment of a regional Customs Authority is part of the Customs Union, which became fully fledged on January last year, after a five-year transition period.
A single regional Customs Authority would mean that customs revenues are collected at the first point of entry, and imported goods proceed to the final destination without stopping at national border points for customs charges or inspection.
President Nkurunziza further called for the speedy implementation of decisions of EAC Council of Ministers, and implementation of the Protocols and commitments agreed on by Partner States in order to ensure the benefits of the regional integration are felt by all.
"It is imperative, therefore, that this Assembly and the Council of Ministers collaborate more on mechanisms to initiate laws that enforce the expeditious implementation of the Customs Union and the Common Market Protocol so that East African citizens can reap benefits accruing from them," the Head of State emphasised.
President Nkurunziza spoke during the Second Meeting of the Fifth Session of the Second East African Legislative Assembly at the Congress Palace, in Bujumbura, Burundi.
The Legislative arm of the East African Community, which started its meeting on Thursday has lined up a number of Bills that will be debated over the next two weeks, among them the second and third Reading of the controversial EAC Polythene Materials Control Bill.
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