The East African Community (EAC) partner states must move faster and put in place all the building blocks to achieve prosperity, President Paul Kagame has said.

The President was yesterday speaking at the sixth East African Business Summit (EABS) in Kigali.

He said the country was better off in EAC integration because of the enormous benefits it has enjoyed over the past seven years.

"The fact that we have many challenges should not blind us from the progress we have already made,” Kagame said, urging the business community to embrace ICT to help reduce the cost of doing business across the region.

"Technology has a multiplier effect in terms of reducing costs and enhancing efficiency and better service delivery. It’s the bedrock for innovation that works well for entrepreneurs which everybody must embrace for the betterment of our people,” the President said.

"Technology has a multiplier effect in terms of reducing costs and enhancing efficiency and better service delivery. It’s the bedrock for innovation that works well for entrepreneurs which everybody must embrace for the betterment of our people,” the President said.

"We need prosperity; we have all the building blocks, let us move as fast as we can, because the more we bring resources together the more integration will take place.

"We are not yet where we want to be and, therefore, must do everything within our means so that we get where we want to be.”

The two-day summit, organised under the theme, "Regional economic development for inclusive growth,” brings together more than 100 top regional business people.

The summit is a joint initiative of Citibank, Deloitte, KPMG, Nation Media Group, PwC and Serena Hotels.

The mission of the summit is to engage with opinion leaders, practitioners and development agents to address key challenges and contribute to East Africa’s economic transformation.

"It is important that EAC benefits more than if we worked alone. We have been building mainly from the bottom, we must encourage connections between actions and government policies with the needs of our people so that we are able to create an enabling environment within where they can excel,” Kagame added.

The President noted that Rwanda would continue playing its part in ensuring that a conducive environment is put in place for all to benefit.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Africa would not be able to achieve its social-economic objective unless it was self-driven.

"We have seen economies that focus much on production of raw materials without knowing that we are actually exporting jobs through raw material exportation,” Kenyatt said.

"We must partner and work together to develop as a region. Our real wealth is our people; therefore the need to bring our people back on board is critical, governments alone will not succeed unless the private sector takes an active role.”

Investors tipped

Kenyatta said investors have a responsibility to grow small businesses and the informal sector without looking at them as competitors but rather complementary, and help mainstream the sector for economic sustainability of economies.

This, he added, would "help us widen our tax base and reduce the burden that large companies think are carrying on our behalf.”

According to Amb. Richard Sezibera, the EAC’s secretary-general, there is need to expand the circle of opportunities around the region so as to create more job opportunities, and enhance trade.

"Barriers to cross-border, the movement of capital are coming down. Payment systems expected to fast track trade have been launched, and with the Common External Tariff and Single Customs Territory in place, we must continue dealing with remaining trade barriers and further reduce the cost of doing trade in the region,” Sezibera said.

Investors decry challenges

Investors said high electricity tariffs, interest rates, disharmonised tax regimes, will not only affect progress but will also hamper inclusive growth across the region.

They say regional governments should do more to address the challenges.

"Availability of energy is critical for the region’s economic growth. However, challenges such as misuse of our natural resources, harmonising tax regimes and tax exemptions should be addressed to foster a faster economic growth,” Linus Gitahi, chief executive of Nation Media Group, said.

"Striking a balance between the government’s need of taxes and the need for the private sector to remain competitive is critical for the region’s progress,” Gitahi added.

Denis Karera, the vice-chairperson of East African Business Council, said emphasising public-private sector partnership was a requirement that all stakeholders should embrace if the region was to realise its economic prospects.

"What we are saying is that let us dialogue and do more on the implementation on what we always agree to do, because time is not on our side. More so, there is need to establish an East African Trade Centre where all Partner States can share business knowledge,” Karera told The New Times on the sidelines of the summit.

Last week, Rwanda, South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda launched the construction of the standard gauge railway line in Kampala.

Work is in progress on some of the mega regional infrastructure projects including the construction of an oil pipeline.

Rwanda’s informal cross-border trade exports to the region increased by 7.4 per cent, fetching $109.3 million in 2013.

Other statistics indicate that, intra -regional trade grew from $5.5 billion in 2012 to a mild $5.8 billion in 2014, while total trade between EAC partner states accounts for only 12 per cent.