E. Africa puts priority on cross-border trade

Leaders of the East African Community member states have agreed to prioritize the implementation of measures to ensure uninterrupted cross-border movement of goods, even as the region continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a virtual meeting on Tuesday convened by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who is the current EAC chairman, leaders including Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir acknowledged the challenge to cross-border trade posed by the fight against the pandemic, especially the emergence of truck drivers as a high-risk carrier population.

The heads of state told their respective state agencies responsible for health, transportation and EAC affairs to roll out border screening and testing measures, especially for truck drivers, that do not compromise the cross-border movement of goods.

Saying that information sharing is crucial during such a crisis, the leaders directed the agencies to finalize and adopt an EAC digital surveillance and tracking system for drivers and crew members for immediate use by member states.

Kenyatta emphasized the need for collective regional intervention against the pandemic.

"A unified stand is what we need to combat this pandemic in the region," Kenyatta said. "We continue to actively enforce contact tracing, which has proved to be very effective in identifying those who have come into contact with infected persons."

The heads of state expressed satisfaction with measures taken so far by regional governments in managing the virus, and they thanked the EAC Secretariat as well as the Council of Ministers for efforts to minimize the cross-border spread of the virus while ensuring the uninterrupted movement of goods.

EAC member states have recorded a total of 1,879 confirmed cases and 62 deaths. Kenya is the most-affected country, with 737 infected cases, followed by Tanzania, with 509; Rwanda, 286; South Sudan, 194; Uganda, 126; and Burundi, 27. The only member states reporting deaths were Kenya, with 40; Tanzania, 21; and Burundi, one.

The leaders acknowledged the slowdown caused by the pandemic in the region's key economic sectors, and they urged member states to prioritize local production of essential supplies needed to combat COVID-19.

They also encouraged member countries to invest more in agricultural production, agri-processing and added-value products to empower the sector at a time when global trade is suppressed by the public health crisis.

They singled out small and medium-sized enterprises as having the highest potential to cushion the region against the adverse economic effects of the pandemic, and recommended the establishment of special financing programs.

The leaders also thanked development partners including the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention for their continued support in combating the virus.