Kenyan private sector players have expressed optimism in making steps towards recovery of Covid-19, following a commitment by the East African Community Secretariat to jointly invest in vaccine manufacturing in the region
EAC Secretary General, Peter Mathuki, said that there was need for a coordinated approach in handling Covid-19 in the region and emphasized on the need for local production of vaccines.
“EAC is working on strengthening partnerships between the private sector and EAC Partner States’ governments, to jointly establish investment in vaccine manufacturing, to ensure the region can produce and avail vaccines to East Africans,” Mathuki said.
Speaking during a CEO roundtable breakfast meeting organised by the East African Business Council (EABC), in Nairobi, Kenya, Mathuki also noted that the EAC Secretariat is working on reviewing the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC.
The EAC Treaty entered into force on July 7, 2020 following its ratification by the the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania
“There is a need for a comprehensive review of the Treaty and other legal instruments to reflect current EAC membership and provide mechanisms of resolving ongoing challenges. I am optimistic that there is a lot of goodwill around this, as this was also echoed by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. Samia Suluhu, during the recent courtesy visit to by the EAC Secretariat,” Mathuki added.
The Secretary General further disclosed that the Community was working on developing a harmonized framework for a collective response by Partner States to Covid- 19 in the region through the EABC and EAC Technical Working Group (TWG) launched last month.
On his part, Adan Mohamed, the Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for EAC and Regional Development, reaffirmed his commitment to improving the business climate in all EAC Partner States through stronger Public-Private Dialogues (PPD).
“We are currently in the process of building a Sh5 billion cross border market at the Kenya-Uganda border which is set to increase cross border trade,” said Mohamed.
Kevit Desai, Principal Secretary, State Department of EAC said that there was need for strengthened coordination on infrastructure spending to speed up development in the region.
The meeting held under the theme ´Enhancing a Private Sector-led Integration & Emerging Opportunities in East Africa´ was attended by industry captains from the EABC, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM).
