Regional Workshop on ‘Improving Trade Flows in and from East African Community: Overcoming Logistics Challenges’

Arusha, July 16, 2010; The East African Business Council with support from Commonwealth Secretariat organized a three-day workshop on use of multi-modal transport in trade facilitation. The workshop whose theme was: "Improving Trade Flows in and from East African Community: Overcoming Logistics Challenges" brought together participants from both the public and private sector.

Participants at the workshop discussed various topics pertaining to trade facilitation in a multi-modal transport systems.

In his opening remarks the Chairman of East African Business Council Mr Faustin Mbundu said poor infrastructure is a key driver of the high cost of doing business and as such, a leading contributor to our firms’ uncompetitiveness regionally and globally.

For Example, East Africa has one of the most expensive transport costs in the World, making our goods uncompetitive. Part of the problem is because the region is heavily dependent on road transport.

Hon. Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, the minister of infrastructure development, united Republic of Tanzania who was the chief guess, said: “This huge amount of money needed to spur infrastructure development is not easy to raise from the public sector alone. Public private partnerships are viable means to effectively address constraints of financing, and managing and maintaining big projects like those in transport sector.”

He challenged the private sector to consider investing in infrastructure through meaningful partnership with governments. "The government of Tanzania has formulated a National Public private Partnership policy to provide guidance for attracting investment collectively from both public and private sector,” Mr Kawambwa said.

“I believe that the private sector is capable of working with government to improve infrastructure within the region provided we have in place a well structured infrastructure development financing arrangement,” Mr Kawambwa said. “The government is in the process of operationalising this policy through a specific private public law expected to be passed by the national assembly,” he said.

Attached are presentation made at the workshop