Kampala: As East Africa gets ready for the budget reading, the private sector has asked regional governments to involve concerted efforts in addressing inflationary pressures and other external shocks. Through the East Africa Business Council’ (EABC), an umbrella organisation for the region’s private sector, members want governments to put in place measures that will shield the regional economies against inflation.
Next week the East Africa member states will concurrently read their respective Budgets for the financial year 2012/13. In an interview Mr Gerald Sendaula, the chairman EABC, told Daily Monitor that focus should be put on addressing structural issues that have ravaged regional economies.
Region under siege Last year regional member states struggled with high inflation which saw prices of commodities almost triple. Because of this, doing business in the region especially for the private sector became unbearable and very costly.
EABC further stress that as a region they want to see strategic interventions that will boost agricultural productivity thus addressing the issue of food insecurity. “Budgets need to focus more on how the region can feed itself as well as producing surplus for export,” Mr Sendaula said.
He said agriculture is still an area that EAC has comparative advantage compared to the rest of the world.
