On Tuesday, the East African presidents resolved to establish financing strategies for the small and medium enterprises as a way to help the vulnerable businesses from the adverse effects of the pandemic.
The meeting held as a video conference was attended by Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) Salvar Kiir (South Sudan), and Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya).
They made commitments to boost local production of processed foods. Also, the supply of medical products such as sanitizers, masks, coveralls, soaps, ventilators, and face shields will be supported.
John Mgufuli, the Tanzanian president as well as Pierre Nkurunziza, the Burundian president, skipped the conference.
“The Heads of state noted that the region’s key economic sectors are experiencing a slowdown as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, such as agriculture, trade, manufacturing and industry, tourism, hospitality and entertainment,” said the statement.
So far, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Sudan have 286, 126, and 194 cases of covid-19, respectively, with zero deaths cases in each country. Kenya has the highest here, with 715 cases with 36 deaths.
The support by the presidents will benefit businesses as the pandemic has highly affected business all across the market.
