EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY
PRESS RELEASE
EAC LAUNCHES COMMON MARKET SCORECARD 2016 IN KAMPALA
East African Community, Kampala, Uganda, 28 October, 2016:
The second EAC Common Market Scorecard (CMS) 2016 which evaluates implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol was
launched yesterday in Kampala, Uganda by the EAC Deputy Secretary
General in charge of Finance and Administration, Hon. Jesca Eriyo. The
Scorecard 2016, which measures Partner States’
compliance to the free movement of capital, services, and goods, was
developed by the World Bank Group together with Trade Mark East Africa
at the request of the EAC Secretariat.
The Scorecard was developed over a period of 18 months under the supervision of the EAC Secretariat and Partner States. The areas of capital, services and goods were selected for scoping as they are fundamental to the operations of the Common Market.
Addressing the participants at the launching, the EAC Deputy Secretary General stated that “a number of reforms have been undertaken since the 2014 CMS. These have brought the total number of non-conforming measures (NCMs) down from 63 in 2014 to 59 in 2016.’’ While this shows progress it should be noted that all EAC Partner States remain largely non-compliant in their services trade liberalization commitments, added Hon. Jesca Eriyo.
Hon
Eriyo disclosed to the participants that In CMS 2016 all Partner States
were given full marks for compliance. Subsequent scorecards should
consider
assessing implementation of these commitments.The
Deputy Secretary General informed the participants that the Scorecard
is well aligned with the EAC’s implementation priorities. "It fosters
peer learning and facilitate the adoption of best practice in the
region".
“The
Scorecard will contribute to strengthen the regional market, grow the
private sector and deliver benefits to consumers,” stated Hon. Eriyo.
She said the implementation in terms of recognition of certificates of origin, an issue repeatedly identified as a significant non-tariff barrier (NTB) in 2014, Burundi continues to earn full points and Kenya continues to score 90 percent. Tanzania’s recognition of certificates of origin has improved from 50 to 60 percent; Rwanda and Uganda’s scores have both declined, indicating a worsening performance in terms of recognizing certificates of origin of other EAC Partner States. Most countries improved their score on applying tariff equivalent charges, though such charges persist as barriers to intra-EAC trade, stated the EAC official.
Hon
Jesca Eriyo disclosed to the participants that the EAC average of
resolution of new NTBs for the 2016 period was about 54 percent, better
than the
38 percent rate for CMS 2014. The EAC Deputy Secretary General called
for greater information sharing regarding the Treaty and Protocol
provisions in the Partner States. Some members of the private sector,
including private sector apex bodies, were unfamiliar
with the Protocol or with the commitments affecting their operations.
Hon Eriyo urged Partner States to strongly engage and inform the private
sector on the implications on these reforms on their day-to-day
operations across the region and develop a private
sector reform champions who could help push for implementation.
Catherine
Masinde, the Practice Manager, East Africa, Trade and Competitiveness,
World Bank Group, said, EAC Partners have done a commendable
effort in removing barriers to free movement of capital, services and
goods, but more needs to be done
She
said the EAC Scorecard provides transparent, rigorous, unbiased and
client-led data on the key implementation gaps to the integration
of the region’s economies. It also highlights possible reform areas to
improve compliance to the Common Market Protocol”.
On
his part Vice Chairman of East African Business Council Uganda, Kassim
Omary, said it is of atmost importance to measure the extent
to which the EAC Parter States are translating the Common Market
Protocol into policies that support actualization of free movement of
people and workers, goods, services and the rights of establishment and
residence within the EAC Partner States
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