CEOs Doubt Political Will to Get Customs Union Up

By Eddyson Lugangwa Posted 30 November 2006 @ 04:30 pm EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

Nairobi (IBTimes.com) - Regional business leaders do not believe governments are committed to the East Africa Customs Union despite promises by the three heads of state.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Country Director Mr Charles Muchene yesterday said chief executives from the region are sceptical the union might be implemented at all. This, he added, has slowed down trade between the three states at a time when Rwanda is being wooed to join the troubled trading bloc.

Muchene was speaking in Nairobi ahead of Saturday's release of this year's East Africa's Most Respected Companies Survey. Over 300 CEOs from publicly listed companies, state-owned organisations, major subsidiaries of multinational companies and locally owned private companies covering major sectors of the economy take part in the survey.

"Over the years, participating CEOs have felt that there is a lack of political will in having the Customs Union start working," Muchene said. "They feel that its seamless implementation is a key challenge that must be sorted out to encourage the flow of business within the three borders."

The survey also showed the business community is worried about the state of infrastructure, even though there have been efforts to increase state spending on it. He said that for the last seven years, the business community has listed infrastructure as the second biggest barrier to doing business in the region.

Ugandan and Tanzanian CEOs said they had difficulty attracting the best workers. "They say that getting the right people with the right skills is a key challenge," Muchene said. Kenyan companies, however, spend more time worrying about losing key staff. "The issue of recruiting and maintaining the top human resource is a major issue here in Kenya."

Kenya Airways was last year's 'Most Respected Company', taking the spot from regional brewing giant East African Breweries Limited, which had held the crown for five years.