The East African Community Heads of States converge in Nairobi for the annual EAC Summit.
They meet for the 14th time since EAC was revived in 1999 at a time that the Partner States were fully aware of the past experiences with its failure and successes.
The revived EAC envisioned the integration under a gradual, or cautious four tier staged process, that is the establishment of a Custom Union, a Common Market, a Monetary Union and ultimately a Political Federation.
The five presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi meet this week in Nairobi three years since the Customs Union protocol, which calls for free trade among the five EAC countries came into effect.
They also meet three years since the common market, which calls for four freedoms, free movement of goods, persons, capital and services, came into effect (1st July 2010). To date, the EAC is negotiating for a Monetary Union which will allow use of one currency within the region with the ultimate goal of attaining a political Federation.
The Customs union has seen an increase in intra trade between the five countries and should be encouraged.
For instance, during the first stage of the Customs Union, goods from Kenya — considered the region’s dominant economy — entering Uganda and Tanzania attracted duties on a reducing basis.
Goods from Uganda and Tanzania — and now Rwanda and Burundi (which joined the Customs Union in July 2010) — have been entering the Kenyan market duty-free.
Tariff-free movement
Trade in goods and services have also increased as service provision to Kenyans and Tanzanians is already important for Uganda in education and in health.
Kenya exports financial services, for example via the Kenya Commercial Bank and purchase and upgrading of local operators in Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan.
However, three years since the 2010, Customs Union which calls for a free trade area is not yet fully implemented, because there is a significant list of exclusions to the Common External Tariff and tariff-free movement of goods and services.
Technical work is also needed to harmonize and modernise the customs procedures in the EAC’s major ports of entry; hence plans to have a single customs territory are a major agenda during this year’s Heads of State Summit in Nairobi.
We want to urge the partner states not to waver until a single customs territory is achieved and Non Tariff Barriers that hinder free trade between the countries removed.
The main objective of establishing the Common Market is aptly captured in the Preamble to the Protocol to be “the realisation of accelerated economic growth and development through the attainment of the free movement of goods, persons, labour, the rights of establishment and residence, the free movement of services and capital.”
The Protocol is now nearly three years old since it was signed.
It is now more than two (2) years old since it came into force.
It is an Agreement that allows for the free movement of persons, workers, and right of residence.
Member states are expected to change their national laws to allow the full implementation of some aspects of the Common Market such as immigration and customs within a five year period from 2010.
We applaud Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi for having already agreed to waive work permit fees for EAC citizens. But Tanzania has instead increased work permit fee to Sh200,000 making it difficult for ordinary East Africans to work in the country.
We wish to call upon other countries especially Tanzania to waive/reduce the work permits fee to make it easier for East Africans to move freely within the region.
Only on paper
Arbitrary rules and delays continue to make trade between Kenya and Tanzania expensive and difficult.
Kenyan businesses complain that the benefits of the Common Market only exist on paper to date, and that all the work remains to be done.
We again urge the Heads of State summit to address the emerging challenges that do not encourage EAC integration.
Negotiations for a monetary Union are still going on. So far only 77 articles have been drafted.
This has been attributed to bureaucracy and red tape in tall the five EAC partner states.
While it is clear that the 2012 December deadline will not be met, we wish to urge EAC partner states to set their differences of opinion aside and give the more than 130 million people a smile on their face by signing this protocol which will allow use of a single currency in the region.
