Kikwete urges region on infrastructure development

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has stressed the need to improve the state of regional infrastructure so as to reduce on the cost of doing business. The current Chairperson of the Summit of EAC Heads of State made the remarks in his State of EAC Address to the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala), sitting in the Burundian capital Bujumbura on Thursday. The State of EAC Address is an annual activity that aims at giving the Community impetus and direction. “We must do everything possible to reduce infrastructure-related costs so as to reduce on the cost of doing business in the region,” he said. “It is estimated that transport costs in our region are four to five times higher compared to those in the developed countries. This accounts for about 30 to 40 per cent of the price of goods in the landlocked countries. Investing in better and efficient ports, railways, roads, aviation services, energy and telecommunication are things we must continue to do.” EAC leaders have committed to closing the infrastructure gap by 2020. The Tanzanian leader commended the ongoing work on the Northern Corridor and the Central Corridor. The Assembly, Kikwete noted, should regularly request partner states to report on progress being made on the implementation of projects. “The full integration of the East African Community region depends on the success of these efforts. We must know that the world we are in has no place for fragmented markets, isolated industrial value chains and inadequate cross-border infrastructure,” he said. Kikwete also talked about regional trade, non-tariff barriers, the Common Market, and regional peace and security. He said that though a lot has been done to eliminate tariff barriers, member countries should work toward the total elimination of the remaining non-tariff barriers. Commendable work, he noted, has been done to address the transport related barriers such as road blocks, weigh bridges and other check points on the roads as well as customs red-tape at ports and exit points.

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Kikwete urges region on infrastructure development