Integration News
Rwanda’s Commitment to Regional Integration is Not New-Amb. Rugwabiza Amb. Valentine Rugwabiza was appointed Minister for East African Community (EAC) on July 24, 2014. She spoke with Integration Affairs Magazine’s Eric Kabeera on Rwanda’s commitment to the East African Community under her leadership. Read the excerpts below: As new minister, what are your areas of focus? What do you want to achieve? I may be new as a minister but Rwanda’s commitment to regional integration is not new and I’m guided here by Rwanda’s priorities in the EAC integration process. We are not starting from scratch. A number of things have been achieved. We are looking at what the maximum returns for Rwandan citizens, maximum return for businesses and for professional bodies and associations are. The Customs Union that started being implemented brought a number of benefits especially at the beginning of this year on the Northern Corridor and now on the Central Corridor. The trucks turnover is increasing and it has doubled. This is one of the areas we need to consolidate our efforts to ensure that we benefit more. The Central Corridor is still in pilot phase and we are implementing the Single Customs Territory on products like fuel products, grains, and motorcycles. We are planning for a full rollout and thereafter, we will be able to assess the impact.
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How has single customs territory to focus on that. benefited Rwanda? Is full implementation of the Common Market Protocol The Northern Corridor started possible? being implemented in January 2014 and we have seen the cost of a It’s not easy but what shows that container of goods from Mombasa it is feasible are the ingredients to Kigali reduced by US$1000. required to make it happen. It is This is not little money. In terms the political will and it is there in of time, we have seen a dramatic all the five states. It’s absolutely a drop in the time it used to take necessary condition but it’s not and it moved from 21 days to 5 sufficient to make that happen. days to transport a container from We now have to look at what Mombasa to Kigali. We are going is in place. There are a number to conduct the same assessment of legislations that need to be on the Central Corridor because it harmonised. We need to look at is now being implemented. what is required for an engineer from Rwanda to be able to operate How far have EAC Partner States in Kenya. So we need to go for all reached with the implementatrion these requirements. of the Common Market Protocol? We need to establish the mutual The Common Market Protocol recognition of qualifications. We will bring huge benefits once we also need to go for the checklist achieve free movement of workers, of all the policies in the respective services, free movement of capital, countries that are discriminative and the right of establishment in of other EAC countries and amend any of the EAC countries. Once them. It involves a lot but once the implemented, Rwandans and their political will is there and there companies will be able to establish is involvement of all partners, in any of the EAC countries and especially the professional bodies be treated as nationals. That comes themselves, then it gives us the with huge gains in terms of growth steam we need. in their businesses but also huge gains in terms of employment. We What is the progress made are still at the very early stages of with the removal of Non-Tariff implementation but we are going Barriers (NTBs)? July-Dec 2014
