East African Community

Introduction:				within and outside the region.
The East African community commonly refers to the				Benefits:
three East African states namely Kenya, Tanzania				The East African region covers an area of 1.8 million
and Uganda, within the recent past it has been used				square kilometers with a combined population of
to refer to Rwanda and Burundi which are pushing				about 100 million and has vast natural resources
forward to join the block and be it's forth and Fifth				including minerals, forests and farmlands. The three
member states. Sometimes the term is used to refer				countries are relatively prosperous compared to their
to a wider geographical region covering even the				war-torn neighbors such as Congo Somalia and
wider Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Eritrea. The region (EA)				southern Sudan. They also share a common language
boast of a huge population of around 100 million				(Swahili) although English is still widely spoken among
people currently, like the rest of sub-Saharan Africa ,				the member states.
east Africa is faced with problems including the cases				There are many benefits to be derived from a
of HIV Aids, famine, draught and poor levels of				community that shares so much in common. Among
industrialization. The current leaders of the three				these benefits include (a) A wider market for goods
states are Mwai Kibaki, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda				produced within the region. This wide market gives
and Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania				room for more business and employment
History				opportunities. This gives room for increased
The three east African countries share a rich history,				productivity and specialization on different lines of
all the three of them like most African countries				production. (b) Due to the presence of this
were once under colonial rule, before the second				homogenous big market the community will be able
world war Kenya and Uganda were under British rule				to attract more Foreign Direct Investments as
while Tanzania was under German rule, after the				investors will be lured into the federation by the
defeat of Germany in the second world war				prospects of reaping in huge profits from their
Tanzania also came under British rule.				investment endeavors. (c) Due to increased
After years of colonization within the three states				competition and emergence of economies of scale
resistant movements against the colonial government				the regions citizens will benefit from cheaper and
emerged leading to independence, Tanzania was the				better quality goods and services. (d) Increased
first to gain independence in 1960 followed by				tourism. Since the community is in the process of
Uganda in 1962 and then Kenya in 1963.				introducing a Single Tourist Visa, if approved the visa
Soon after their independence the three states were				will be valid for all three current member states of
effectively on course to forming the first federation				the EAC (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda). When
in Africa. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have had a				approved, the Visa will be applicable in all the three
history of co-operation dating back to the early 20th				regional member states. This will increase tourism
century, including the Customs Union between Kenya				earnings greatly since many parts of East Africa are
and Uganda in 1917, which the then Tanganyika				worldwide renowned for their concentrations of wild
joined in 1927, the East African High Commission				animals, such as the "big five" of elephant, buffalo,
(1948-1961), the East African Common Services				lion, leopard and rhinoceros, though populations have
Organization (1961-1967), The East Africa Railways, a				been declining recently due to climatic changes,
united airline and the East African Community				poaching a human encroachment and increased
(1967-1977)				stress, especially in relation to the rhino and elephant
The first federation in east Africa federation				the region is still one of the best tourist destinations
collapsed within a short period since by 1977 the				in the world.
federation was already dead. One of the principles				The geography of East Africa is often stunning and
factors that led to the collapse was the cold war				scenic. Shaped by global plate tectonic forces that
period; all the three countries followed differently				have created the Great Rift Valley, East Africa is the
ideological perspectives.				site of Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, the two tallest
Kenya under its first president (Jomo Kenyatta) was				peaks in Africa. It also includes the world's second
more capitalist oriented guided by its sessional paper				largest freshwater lake (Lake Victoria), and the
no:10 of 1965, ( on African Socialism and its				world's second deepest lake (Lake Tanganyika).
Application to Planning in Kenya, ) Tanzania on its				The unique geography and apparent suitability for
part under its first president (Mwalimu Julius Nyerere)				farming made East Africa a target for European
was more socialistic guided by the Arusha declaration				exploration, exploitation and colonization in the
of 1967 that advocated for Ujamaa (communalism)				nineteenth century. Today, tourism is an important
Uganda ion the other hand was more Marxist under				part of the economies of Kenya, Tanzania, and
its president (Idi Amin Dada) with his principle that he				Uganda. It is a major foreign exchange earner for the
called the common man charter. Cross border				three countries. (e) A common travel passport. East
accusations of sabotage and media conflicts also				African Passport
played a part in bringing down the federation. Besides				The East African passport was officially launched on 1
these there were other technical factors that led to				April 1999. The East African passport has been
its collapse including;				introduced as a travel document to ease border
- Lack of a well defined constitution.				crossing for East Africans. It is valid for travel within
- Lack of institutional capacity building.				the EAC countries only and will entitle the holder to a
- Similarity of export goods leading to below par				multi entry stay of renewable six months' validity in
trade among the member states.				any of the countries.[9] The passport is issued in all
- Leadership problems between the heads of states				three EAC member states (Kenya, Uganda and
especially between Nyerere and Idi Amin (This later				Tanzania). The passports are available at the
led to war between Tanzania and Uganda).				Headquarters of the respective Immigration
The efforts towards the creation of a political union				Departments in Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam.
The efforts towards the creation of a second				Only East African nationals may apply to be issued
political union of east Africa have already taken root.				with the passports. The passport costs US$10 or the
These efforts include the fact that presently all the				equivalent in EAC currencies. Processing of
three countries (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) have				applications for the passports will normally take two
already embarked on a process of carrying out				to three weeks. Although the passport is only valid
nation wide referendums to give the people a chance				within the EAC, modalities of internationalizing the
to vote on whether they need the political union or				East African passport were being discussed with the
not. This process will go on into the near future in				aim towards having a common travel document for
order to make the process as democratic and as				East Africans by 2006.
representative as possible. Some achievements				Other measures meant to ease border crossing for
already achieved include:				East Africans include: the issuance of inter-state
(1) The fact that the community has already				passes (which commenced on 1st July 2003); a single
introduced the East African legislative assembly				immigration Departure/Entry card (adopted by the all
(EALA). The members of parliament in the east				3 member states);
African assembly are appointed by the respective				Existing and potential drawbacks:
countries parliaments and finally approved by the				(I) Institutional inertia: The time frame set for various
respective heads of states (presidents) The East				actions was often too optimistic. The strategy did
African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is the legislative				not always determine the feasibility for implementing
arm of the Community. The EALA has 27 members.				various policy and programme actions based on
The EALA has oversight functions on all matters that				country specific conditions. Policy actions, which
fall within the Community's work and its functions				required negotiation (protocol), such as free
include debating and approving the budget of the				movement of capital, reduction of internal tariffs, and
Community, discussing all matters pertaining to the				the like, lagged behind schedule. It would appear that
Community and making recommendations to the				in the spirit of broad consultations it was necessary
Council as it may deem necessary for the				that discussions and negotiations take ample time.
implementation of the Treaty, liaising with National				The time taken was not always estimated in a
Assemblies on matters pertaining to the Community				realistic manner.
and establishing committees for such purposes as it				(ii) Slow decision making processes at national levels
deems necessary. Since being inaugurated in 2001,				raised some concern. Country specific modes of
the EALA has had several sittings as a plenum in				operation were not fully considered. Decision making
Arusha, Kampala and Nairobi. Regardless of this				often involved several statutory steps. The process
development the appointment of the members does				involved development of Cabinet Paper by the
not come without especially in Kenya where some				respective Ministry whereby the Paper had to be
legislators claim that the appointment process is not				submitted to the Cabinet Secretariat for discussion
done with reference to the doctrines setup to guide				by the Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee, and
the appointment process.				from there to the Cabinet. If the issue requires
(2) The federation has already introduced a rotary				approval from the higher level it had to be passed to
system whereby the three heads of states take				the Parliament for final approval. Issues, which
charge at the helm of the federation. The leader at				required amendment of the Law and other sensitive
the helm at any one time becomes the chair of				issues had to pass all this process. The time taken
presidential and ministerial meetings between the				could be quite substantial. This fact was not always
member states. In addition to this the community has				taken into account in preparing time frame for
ratified the main organs of the EAC which are: the				activities.
Summit of Heads of State and or Government;				(iii) There was a time lag between changes made and
Council of Ministers; Co-ordination Committee;				change of attitudes and modalities of operation on
Sectoral Committees; East African Court of Justice,				the part of the operational staff on the ground. In
East African Legislative Assembly; and the				future, awareness campaigns and public education
Secretariat.				may be required to reduce the gravity of this
Establishment of the community's judicial court				problem.
system:				(iv) Sequencing of certain activities was sometimes
East African Court of Justice				inappropriate. For instance, the Policy action that
The East African Court of Justice is the judicial arm				required development of adequate and reliable
of the Community. The members of the east African				energy supply in the region demanded for further
court of justice just like their legislative counterparts				inter -grid connection by Jan.1997. In order to have
are elected from their respective countries. However				this task undertaken, national power master plan
the question of their security of tenure has come				should have been in place first. In contradiction,
under scrutiny especially after Kenya suspended two				national power master plans were planned to be in
of its members accusing them of being involved in				place by January1998.
corrupt practices back home. The court has original				(v) Resource constraints caused delays in
jurisdiction over the interpretation and application of				implementation. Implementation of certain activities
the 1999 Treaty that re-established the EAC. The				depends on the availability of resources. For those
east African court of justice in the future may have				activities whose implementation required additional
other original, appellate, human rights or other				finances from governments timing for inclusion in the
jurisdiction upon conclusion of a protocol to realise				budget process was crucial. The Implementation of
such extended jurisdiction. It is temporarily based in				certain programmes was tied to the goodwill of the
Arusha, Tanzania.				international community. With the flow of international
The road towards the attainment of a Common				resources not forthcoming at the required time,
education system:				these programmes were not implemented on time.
Currently the community has not yet introduced a				The implementation of large regional projects was
common education system. Regardless of this fact				constrained by the narrow resource base. The lesson
the education systems within the three member				to be drawn from this experience is that ways of
states are not that very different since they				broadening the sources of finance should be sought.
adopted the almost the same modes of education				(vi) pressures of restructuring and privatization
systems from the British colonial government. In				overstretched the capacity of some institutions
addition to this there is a very huge population of				making it difficult to play their appropriate role in
cross border students between the three member				carrying out EAC obligations. For instance,
states. The most significant is that of Kenyan				telecommunications and railways institutions
students in Uganda. Most of these students go into				experienced this difficulty. While the large public
Uganda to seek higher education after failing to attain				institutions in particular were stuck in restructuring
the cut off points to enter Kenyan public universities				and privatization, new actors in the respective
which have become very competitive for				industries were emerging (e.g. in telecommunications,
government sponsored students and very expensive				airlines, banking and insurance). Yet the EAC
for self sponsored students commonly referred to as				programmes did not adjust to these changes as
parallel or module 2 in some cases.				expected under the principle of subsidiarity which the
Common currency				EAC has endorsed. The lesson to be drawn from this
The new treaty may be fast tracked, with plans				experience is that in future the EAC programmes will
drawn up in 2004 to introduce a monetary union with				need to take fuller account of actors outside
a common currency, the East African shilling, by 2009.				government for implementation of programmes.
The shilling was the currency issued for use in Kenya,				(vii) Managing distribution of costs and benefits.
British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, Tanzania, Uganda				Partner States are not equally developed. A major
and parts of Yemen during the time these areas				challenge in reaching agreement on CET is the
were British colonies and protectorates. The east				differences in the levels of industrial development,
African shilling ceased to be in use as each member				economic structures and varying revenue implications.
introduced its own local currency on achievement of				The perception of unequal development and unequal
independence from Britain. It is also the proposed				sharing of benefits and costs of integration has
name for a common currency that the East African				contributed to delaying the process of negotiations.
Community plans to introduce by the end of 2009[5].				However, these factors can be viewed as challenges
There are also plans for the introduction of a				for effective participation in the Community.
common market for the East African Community.				Negotiations have taken long in some areas because
However, some experts like those based out of the				the benefits were not obvious. More comprehensive
Kenyan public think tank Kenya Institute of Public				identification of benefits and costs and analysis of
Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), have noted				options available were not always carried out by the
that the plans are too ambitious to be met by 2010				respective Partner States. The lessons to be drawn
because a number of political, social and economic				from this experience are that there is need to
challenges are yet to be addressed. These issues				develop the institutional and human capacity to
include the amount of taxes to be levied for locally				manage regional co-operation in the context of
produced goods from one member state to another,				unequal levels of development of Partner States.
the common external tariff to be levied, as well as				Systematic lessons from the experience of other
the amount each member state will contribute into				regional blocks would be useful.
the federations' budget. Borrowing a leaf from the				Conclusion:
European Union there is a potential possibility of a				Besides the benefits and challenges faced, the
common currency being delayed due to the				community needs to be guided by the community's
differences in the monetary values of the currencies				fundamental and operational principles.
of the member states. The Kenyan currency is				Strengthening and consolidating the long standing
stronger than both the Ugandan shilling and the				political, economic, social, cultural and traditional ties by
Tanzanian shilling. Currently the Kenyan shilling is				Partner States and associations between the people
exchanging at around Sh18 to the Tanzanian shilling				of the region in promoting a people-centred mutual
and Sh25 to the Ugandan shilling.				development. Enhancing and strengthening
Introduction of free trade:				participation of the private sector and civil society;
The issue of free and fair trade is one of the most				Mainstreaming of gender in all its programmes and
contentious issues in international trade. It is the				enhancement of the role of women in development;
same issue that led to the collapse of the Doha				Promotion of good governance including adherence to
round of WTO talks. Within the east African				the principles of democracy rule of law, accountability,
community it is bound to be even more intense since				transparency, social justice, equal opportunities and
the three member states are primarily agricultural				gender equality; and Promotion of peace, security
based. Removing tariffs would lead to the dominance				and stability within the region and good
of one state over the others (most likely Kenya).				neighbourliness among the Partner States will go
This is what prompted the drafters of the				along way leading to the achievement of the
constitution to impose duty on Kenyan goods				community's goals.
entering the Ugandan and Tanzanian markets. Under				References:
the terms of the treaty, Kenya, the richest of the				Nye Joseph S. (1965) Pan African and east African
three countries, will pay duty on its goods entering				integration, Harvard university press, Cambridge
Uganda and Tanzania until 2010 based on a declining				Paul J. Kaiser, F. Wafula Okumu, (2004), Democratic
scale. A common system of tariffs will apply to other				Transitions in East Africa, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
countries supplying the three countries with goods.				Ulrich Koester, (1986), Regional Cooperation to
Funding of the annual budget:				Improve Food Security in Southern and Eastern
The core budget of the EAC's Secretariat is funded				African Countries, International Food Policy Research
by equal contributions from the Partner States.				Institute.
Regional projects and programmes are funded				William Tordoff, Government and politics in Africa
through the mobilisation of resources from both				(1984) Indiana University Press, Bloomington.

Mr Safaris

East African Community