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Oil, food price rises ruinous, says EABC
2008-05-03 09:41:43
By Guardian Reporter, Arusha
The East African Business Council has said the skyrocketing of oil and food prices has had disastrous economic consequences in the region.
``The past 18 months have seen the price of oil go up to $100 a barrel and I am worried that will have further risen to $200,`` EABC chairman Arun Devani said here yesterday.
Pump prices at some filling stations in Dar es Salaam have shot up from 1,500/- to 1,700/- a litre for petrol, with diesel generally more expensive.
Devani was addressing a one-day `Sensitisation Forum on the East African Community Common Market for the Business Community and Economic Stakeholders`.
The event attracted some 150 delegates from the five EAC partner states – Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – and was chaired by Confederation of Tanzania Industries Chairman Reginald Mengi.
``If the oil price trend is not tamed, it will negatively impact on our manufacturing industry,`` said Devani, adding that food price rises could easily disrupt the entire regional economy.
He said the business community was fed up with needless delays mostly caused by people clinging to outdated procedures or formalities.
``We are tired of delay delay delay. Trade should not be politicised,`` stated the EABC chairman, calling on the EAC to avoid minimise bureaucracy at its secretariat.
Describing the EAC Common Market as the most important aspect towards the region`s integration, Mengi noted: ``It is my firm belief that we all believe in regional integration and that is why we are here today If that is the case, the EA Common Market is crucial step towards reaching our desired integration.``
He underlined the need to make the `roadmap` for the regional common market operational, saying the work lay in the hands of the people of East Africa.
The EAC partner states boast a combined population of 120 million, a land area of 1.8 million sq. kilometers and a combined GDP of $41 billion.
The economic bloc is currently fine-tuning the modalities of setting up a common market, after the regional customs union came into force in January 2005.
According to the agreed framework of the EAC Treaty, the entry point of EAC integration was the establishment of the customs union.
The roadmap shows that that key stage would then usher in the common market, followed by a monetary union, and finally a super-state in the name of a political federation.
Negotiations on the setting up of a regional common market began on July 1, 2006 and are expected to come to a close in December this year with the signing of the common market protocol.
If things go to plan, the protocol will be ratified by June 2009 and the common market launched in January 2010.
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