.Lauds JPM for keeping economy open amid Covid-19

THE East African Business Council (EABC) has called for a deeper collaboration between the Public and Private sectors to boost East African Community (EAC) intra-trade.

Also, the council has lauded President John Magufuli for a job well done, especially in spearheading major economic reforms in the country.

Amid the global economic disruptions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, EAC private sector wants to steer better relations as a strategy to boost trade and investment in the region.

The leaders noted that the decision by President Magufuli to keep the economy open, offered the private sector a major relief in terms of business resilience as it also strengthened local supply chains.

EABC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Peter Mathuki said that is the spirit for the region – both public and private sector to move forward and business to prosper.

It came about after consultations of CEOs at a roundtable meeting organized by the EABC in collaboration with German Development Agency (GIZ) with a theme ‘Creating Perspectives Project’, convening companies’ CEOs with an aim of deliberating on approaches that the private sector can explore to revamp businesses amid the pandemic.

Tanzania took absolutely a different approach in dealing with Covid-19, by President Magufuli who seeks a second term in office led the nation in style, by ruling out lockdown, letting business go on but with taking reasonable protective measures and it paid handsomely.

In spite of the situation in the bloc, Africa and world over, the business leaders lauded the Tanzanian government for its commitment towards sustainable economic growth, following the attainment of the middle-income status from the World Bank this year.

This happens in the background of a recent report by the African Development Bank (AfDB), indicating that Tanzania’s economy is estimated to grow at 5.5 per cent in 2020, recording the highest growth in the region.

Dr Mathuki called upon industry to repurpose their business models to tap into the new emerging opportunities such as e-commerce, digital technology and biotechnology.

“Innovation, value addition, embracing our local content and tapping into our regional supply value chains are some of the imperative solutions that will drive us towards economic growth,” he said.

Dr. Mathuki noted that as Tanzania shares its borders with eight countries in the region, the move to keep the borders open has sustained intra-regional trade and replenished the region’s food basket.

“EAC economies are interdependent and the move to have borders open has seen the supply of staple food and basic necessities across the region maintained,” he said.

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Speaker, Mr Martin Ngoga, challenged the business community to form a stronger unified front and defend their business interests in one collective voice through the EABC.

“The security of the EAC community should not just be entrusted to the goodwill of individuals but should be pegged strongly on the law and structures of the community. It’s time for the business community to challenge policies put in place and even petition the EAC Parliament to promptly resolve some of the bottlenecks you are facing,” Mr Ngoga said.

According to the World Bank, the pandemic is set to cost East Africa partner states between 37 billion US dollars to 79 billion US dollars in output losses. The business leaders appealed to the EAC governments to embrace regional integration to enable businesses to tap into the EAC Common market of over 177 million people and the regional supply chains.

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