The East African Business Council, whose board met here on Friday, has created a regional platform for the private sector to combat Covid-19 in the East African Community partner states.
The platform is intended to be steadfast in taking up business integration issues to the attention of EAC Heads of State, the Council of Ministers and senior government officials with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic had by the weekend infected 412 persons and caused 11 deaths in the EAC region. The business community vowed to first protect people during the pandemic.
“The East African Business Council appreciates the measures and efforts by the governments of the EAC Partner States to curb the outbreak of Covid-19 in the region,” it said, citing the measures as increasing the number of testing centers and equipment, ban on social gatherings and quarantine measures in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
The platform expressed “appreciation” for EAC Partner States for involving the private sector in respective national coordination committees on Covid-19 and the EAC Council of Ministers for committing to facilitating the free movement of goods/cargo and services across the EAC Partner States linked to the pandemic.
“The regional action platform will complement the government’s efforts on preparedness and response measures to combat Covid-19 pandemic in the EAC by sharing experiences and perspectives of the business community on doing business and investments across EAC borders,” the council said in a statement.
In addition, it will also guide the East African Business Council Secretariat on various proposals and recommendations towards a post-pandemic regional recovery/rebound strategy for businesses in the EAC in the light of Covid-19, it asserted.
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted global and regional value chains hence impacting business operations from supplies, production capacity, distribution channels and utilization of resources as well as consumer demand in the region, the statement noted.
The regional action platform is committed to partner and collaborate with the EAC Secretariat organs and institutions, the African Union and development partners in information sharing, best practices and monitoring the impact of Covid-19 on EAC economies in a bid to bring forward solutions to boost intra-EAC trade and investments to the summit of the EAC Heads of State, it further noted.
“Given the intrinsic nature and level of integration of the EAC, the impact of Covid-19 poses high risks at the regional level regarding the recovery of tourism, SMEs and manufacturing business sectors. Hence there is an urgent need for a common approach on the preparedness, response measures and recovery strategy for the EAC region,” it stated.
A common approach will safeguard current and future jobs, exports, businesses and offer quick economic recovery for the EAC bloc, the platform emphasized.
Highlighting the importance of the growth and resilience of the EAC economies in light of the pandemic, the platform set out a number of recommendations to overcome the pandemic and support economic recovery and prosperity of the EAC region.
It appealed to the summit to hold online meetings and adopt a common approach to the preparedness, response measures and recovery strategy towards curbing the Covid-19 outbreak in the region.
The EAC needs to come up with a common Post Covid-19 recovery/rebound strategy for the region with a focus on intra-EAC trade and investments, it stated.
The EAC region must ensure that borders remain fully operational and facilitate the free movement of goods and services across the EAC Partner States during the fight against the pandemic, it notably added.
