Business
High-level talks to ease flow of imports to GoSS
Southern Sudanese exchange old Dinars for Sudanese pounds, introduced two years ago to standardise the currency. The country wants to be part of the EAC trade block. Photo/FILE
Posted Monday, October 12 2009 at 00:00
Southern Sudan’s Minister for Roads and Transport Anthony Makana said the government would set aside $20 million in the next financial year for construction of a standard gauge railway line linking Juba with the one planned between Kenya and Uganda.
The ministers spoke to The EastAfrican in Mombasa last week on the sidelines of a two-day regional conference at the Whitesands Beach Hotel.
The theme of the conference was: “Towards reducing the cost of doing business.”
The conference brought together regional transport and port stakeholders in EAC, Southern Africa Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
The high cost of doing business, owing to cumbersome procedures, lengthy documentation and delayed reforms, is driving away investors, said the East African Business Council chairman, Faustin Mbundu.
Poor infrastructure in East and Southern Africa was singled out as a great impediment to trade in the region.
President Mwai Kibaki, who was represented at the conference by Transport Minister Chirau Mwakwere, said integration of EAC member states will boost regional growth.
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