S Sudan's entry into EAC portends good for the bloc

South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, has finally joined the East African Community (EAC), almost five years after it formally applied for membership. The announcement was made on March 2, 2016, following the 17th Ordinary Session of Heads of State summit in Arusha, Tanzania.

The first move to have South Sudan join the EAC bloc was initiated by Kenyan and Rwandan leaders during celebrations for South Sudan’s independence on July 9, 2011. These calls prompted South Sudan to submit a formal application for membership just within months of its independence. Nevertheless, these efforts were deferred by EAC member States in 2011, on the basis of institutional and legal bottlenecks as outlined in Article 3 of the EAC treaty concerning basic principal requirements for admission of new member States.