This archive report was first published on 23 June 2020.
On June 11, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania presented their budgets in their respective parliaments for the fiscal year 2020/21, but Burundi, Rwanda, and South Sudan did not.
According to Dr. Peter Mathuki, CEO of the East African Business Council, harmonizing the budget presentation is crucial for the timely implementation of Community projects, such as infrastructure and energy development.
Mathuki explained that reading the budget on the same day helps avoid anomalies where some countries take advantage of others by lowering or increasing taxes, including customs and excise duty on goods.
He emphasized that countries in East Africa can no longer function as isolated units but must work as integrated units of a larger bloc.
For instance, Rwanda moved the annual baby gorilla naming ceremony, Kwita Izina, to September from June to accommodate a joint tourism promotion initiative between Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda.
The initiative aimed to allow Kenya to host its Magical Kenya Expo in October and Uganda to milk the month of June for Martyrs Day, which falls on June 3.
These events took place even as Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda implemented the single tourist visa, marketing East Africa as a single tourist destination, thereby underlining the need to harmonize trade and tourism sectors.
