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Mengi calls for people`s awareness of EA common market
2008-05-04 10:01:22
By Perege Gumbo, just back from Arusha
People`s awareness is crucial for smooth implementation of the envisaged East African Common Market that will see increased goods and services flow within the bloc.
This was said yesterday by the Executive Chairman of IPP, Reginald Mengi, when responding to journalists who sought his comment over the Common market.
Speaking at Ngurdoto where the Common Market sensitization forum for the business community and economic stakeholders was meeting, Mengi said the Common market was an important stage of the East African economic integration which needed greater awareness among the people.
He said it was imperative to make the common market people-centred by availing them with opportunities that would develop as a result of the Common market implementation.
``Massive awareness is needed particularly on how the common people will benefit out of the envisaged market,`` he stressed.
Mengi said the media had an important role to play in focusing on the importance of having such a market in East Africa.
Under the Common market, the five EAC member states would become virtually borderless as goods and services would be allowed to move freely.
The movement of labour for instance from one country to another has been cited as a threat to increased unemployment for the locals.
However, the fear of increased unemployment seemed unrealistic since the final reports of the proposed protocol called for effective harmonization of syllabi by ministers of education of partner states.
Another issue under the Common market was the right of establishment under which citizens of one member state will be free to cross borders and establish businesses in another partner state.
The right of establishment seemed to raise many questions since it was attached to land acquisition.
A consultant of the final report presented to the meeting indicated that there should be not free land for other member states` citizens, but whoever wanted to set up business in another state should be subjected to the same conditions of land acquisition as those applied to locals.
Closing the meeting, the Secretary General of East African Community, Ambassador Juma Mwapachu, hinted that there would be more meetings to seek views on the creation of the market.
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