The government plans to raise the threshold for local preference in public procurement from 10 to 15 per cent, a move that is similar to action taken by other countries in the region.

The move is seen as crucial for giving the nascent manufacturing and business sectors some spine against unbridled competition by foreign suppliers.

The Cabinet has received a draft Bill that proposes revisions to the current procurement law that when passed would provide preferential treatment for goods and services produced in support of Buy Made-in-Rwanda campaign.

“The Public Procurement law, which increases local procurement from 10 per cent to 15 per cent is under review. I am sure the law will be gazetted in the next fiscal year,” said Industry, Trade and East African Affairs Minister Francois Kanimba.

The minister said Rwanda was only playing catchup to its neighbours in the East African Community who have already introduced similar measures.

“The vision of the law is to harmonise the terms for local preference with other East African Community states. The government is not introducing anything new,” said Mr Kanimba.

Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania reserve a percentage of the multi-billion dollar public procurement business for locals amid concerns that the countries are contravening the East African Common Market Protocol.

Article 35 of the Common Market Protocol provides that “the partner states shall not discriminate against suppliers, products or services originating from other partner states, for purposes of achieving the benefits of free competition in the field of public procurement.

But, Christopher Bazivamo deputy secretary-general of the East African Community defended regional governments for the move to protect their local markets saying it is in the interest of the region’s industrialisation policy and an incentive for attracting foreign investments.

Started in 2014, the Buy Made-in-Rwanda campaign aims to promote production and consumption of locally-made goods and services that have for long faced stiff competition from imports. Policy makers are encouraged by the positive results the country has scored in the past two years of implementing the campaign.

The latest statistics released by National Bank of Rwanda show the trade deficit reduced by 25.2 per cent in the first two months of 2017 compared with the same period last year.

The deficit reduced from about Rwf248.6 billion ($296 million) in the first two months of 2017 to about Rwf183 billion ($221 million) facilitated by a decrease in formal imports by 11.9 per cent and growth in exports by 39.1 per cent.