Countries that fail to comply with regional trade rules should be punished, a regional assembly member has said.

Mr Bernard Mulengani said East African Community council of ministers should introduce a uniform policy across the bloc to slap sanctions on member states that breach trade regulations.

Mr Mulengani, a member of the East African Legislative Assembly, was speaking during a debate on the region’s single customs territory report.

“What we need as a region is quality products, lower costs of doing business and competitiveness to spur benefits to the citizens of the region,” Mr Mulengani said.

Although there are rules and regulations toward the realisation of these objectives, he said, lack of awareness is impeding their implementation.

He said citizens in the bloc should be made aware of the importance of integration.

TRADING POTENTIAL

“We need to remove the fears arising out of lack of awareness,” Mr Mulengani noted.

Contributing to the debate, Mr Mike Sebalu said the business community should be told the benefits of the regional integration.

Last year in May, regional judicial officers were trained on the EAC legal framework and their role in integration.

The officers were also trained on how to effectively build capacity on their roles in EAC integration.

The EAC secretariat in partnership with the German Development Cooperation’s arm GIZ also recently announced plans to hold a series of workshops to bridge gaps in cross-border trade.

The training targeting small traders, young entrepreneurs and women traders, will focus on EAC policies, projects and programmes.

Awareness campaigns, which are set to be held at border points of Mutukula and Sirari/Isebania later this month, are geared towards popularising the benefits of regional integration.

“The potential for cross-border trade and related economic impact at border communities are not entirely explored because remote communities have very little or no knowledge of the integration or its benefits,” said the head of EAC Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Mr Richard Owora.

The workshops, he said would enable border communities and small traders to gain essential skills. and knowledge from the best practices and lessons learned in the integration process.

With all the five partner states getting closer to become one entity in all aspects, the region cannot overlook the need for more harmonization and standardization of the National laws, institutional policies and practices and at the same time taking into cognizance the international best practices.

Source: Daily Nation

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