Tax, regulation top list of worries for EAC chief executives

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Rwanda President Paul Kagame are introduced to organisers of the East Africa Business Summit by Nation Media Group chief executive Linus Gitahi in Kigali, Rwanda on October 16, 2014. PHOTO | PSCU 

In Summary

• The East Africa Business Summit (EABS) took place in October last year, in Kigali, Rwanda and brought together like-minded business leaders to work on areas of common interest to accelerate growth in East Africa.
• PwC’s EAC fiscal policy expertise provided value to summit participants, who included over 200 business and government leaders from the region.

Nearly three-quarters of CEOs in the region are concerned about regulations and taxation terming them as threats to growth.

According to the recently released report dubbed ‘the report of the 2014 East Africa Business Summit’ by PwC, Nation Media Group (NMG) in partnership with Citi, KPMG and Deloitte partner states and the private sector was urged to agree on a practical agenda for addressing inconsistent measures.

“To achieve harmonization, the private sector and partner states should use a simple monitoring system check if commitments are being completed within the stipulated time frame,” read the report.

According to the Chair of Conveners Committee at the 2014 East Africa Business Summit Mr Linus Gitahi, the size of Africa’s middle class is set to triple over the next four decade.

PER CAPITA INCOME

“The per capita income in the greater East African region is expected to jump from Sh64, 127 ($6570 to over Sh587, 928 ($6,000) in the same time. These numbers do not simply reflect financial growth; they speak of social economic evolution,” said Mr Gitahi, who is also Nation Media Group’s chief executive officer.

The summit saw the region’s top business leaders commit to explore ways of complementing governments’ efforts of incorporating micro, small and mid-sized enterprises in their supply chains as a means of promoting job creation, expanding the tax base and mainstreaming informal businesses.

According to the Regional and Country Senior Partner PricewaterhouseCoopers Kenya (PwC)Ms Anne Eriksson, regional chief executive officers have expressed confidence in the government and regulators in the bloc.