The EAC Secretary General, Dr. Richard Sezibera, notified business leaders in Rwanda of efforts by policy makers to engage the private sector in addressing challenges affecting regional integration.For long, the private sector has advocated for total inclusion of the business community in policy formulation and implementation, especially on matters that are business related in order to improve investor confidence in the region.Challenges such as poor infrastructure as well as non-tariff barriers that don’t seem to go away despite repeated pleas are hurting doing business in the region. EAC also has low quality power supply system, with a high dependency on large scale hydroelectricity plants leading to power rationing in some member states, as a result of dry spells and erratic rainfalls.The private sector understands these issues better than bureaucrats and this is why its involvement in generating policy is very relevant.Business operators in EAC say that frequent policy changes by regional governments, without due consultation with the relevant stakeholders negatively impacts existing investments and also deters new investors.Addressing such challenges calls for greater consultations between regional governments and the private sector. This would also help improve awareness about regional integration amongst ordinary citizens.
