Rwandan infrastructure minister James Musoni has said his country has not banned sale of imported second-hand clothes but is promoting the ‘Made in Rwanda’ concept to encourage his countrymen to prefer buying unused clothes. The country has imposed a certain tax on such imports but has not banned them, he clarified recently at Kampala.
He was attending the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Retreat on Infrastructure, Health Financing and Development in Kampala, according to a Rwandan newspaper report.
Regional leaders met in Kampala recently to devise means of increasing East Africa’s trade competitiveness through, among other means, creating a competitive textiles industry.
The leaders were speaking at the EAC Heads of State Retreat on Infrastructure, Health Financing and Development in Kampala.
The summit decided to prioritise the development of a competitive regional textile and leather sector to provide affordable, new and quality options of clothing and leather products to East African citizens, according to a communiqué issued at the summit.
The summit was attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is the EAC chairperson and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. Other presidents who attended the summit include John Magufuli of Tanzania and Salva Kirr of South Sudan.
