The East African Business Council has welcomed resolutions adopted by the leaders of Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda during a meeting that was held on Tuesday, aimed at containing COVID-19. A consultative meeting held virtually by the four leaders agreed among others, for partner states adopt a harmonised system for certification and sharing of COVID-19 test results. President Kagame, who is the sitting Chairperson of the East African Community, chaired the meeting. The Business Council said it “salutes the EAC Heads of State for adopting a common approach towards curbing the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in the EAC region.” According to a subsequent communique, the leaders took note of the current status of the pandemic in the region and commended the ministers responsible for health, trade, transport, and EAC affairs for their initiative in adopting a regional approach to the pandemic. The four Presidents took note of the regional response plan and directed the ministers responsible for health, trade, transport and EAC affairs “to ensure that it complements the partner states’ national COVID-19 response plans.” The EAC Business Community has been advocating and calling on leaders to have a common approach to respond to the pandemic. The latest resolutions are in line with the proposals that the business community had made. Peter Mathuki, Executive Director for East African Business Council said that the communique is indeed geared towards protecting the lives of people, economic recovery and facilitating the free movement of cargo and services across borders.
