Disagreements slow down EAC integration
The Observer | Sunday, 04 November 2012
Disagreements slow down EAC integration
Written by JOSEPH OLANYO
More than a decade since the original three East African countries agreed to form one regional bloc, political analysts argue that a sustainable integration cannot be achieved by integrating markets, states and economies, but through consensus values.
Citing the European Union, scholars contend that the integration process there succeeded because consensus values of liberalization, socialism, freedom and market economy exist and cut across.
“You don’t just integrate markets…What we need are ideal values that address development, growth, social and environment goals. Values that will incorporate minds and move from the mind to the heart should be the threads to facilitate integration,” says Makerere University don Mwambutsya Ndebesa.
Discussing EAC-US TIPA, the Trade and Investment Agreement between America and the East African Community, in Kampala last week, political historian Ndebesa called for a paradigm shift from uninformed to informed priorities.
“If we don’t change our mental lens and look at social goals of sustainable development, we shall continue having problems,” he said. “Right now, Ugandan traders are fighting with Kenya over the issue of cash bonds, Tanzania is lagging behind the integration process because it says it will not allow their land to go, and Zanzibar says it wants to go independent of Tanzania…. so where are the consensus values?”
The EAC-US negotiations are built on the foundations of the blocs’ existing trade and investment relationship like the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the United States-EAC Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). A recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says that cross-border investment policy is made in political and economic contexts that have been buffeted by a series of crisis in finance, food security and the environment at the global and regional levels.
Launching the state of the EAC report 2012 this year, Ambassador Juma Mwapachu, the former EAC Secretary General, said: “Regional integration is a complicated but evolving process that starts and ends with the citizenry.”
The EAC integration is to be realized in an incremental progression through the stages of a customs union, a common market, a monetary union, and ultimately a political federation of the EAC states. A fully fledged Customs Union was established on January 1, 2010, after five years of transitory implementation. The EAC Common Market, which came into force on July 1, 2010, provides for free movement of persons, capital, goods, services, and the rights of residence and establishment.
Negotiations for the monetary union have commenced and it is expected that they may be concluded by early 2013. The processes and initiatives to lay the last stage of Political Federation are ongoing. While the final responsibility for shaping East Africa’s future lies with its citizens, the integration process continues to face challenges.
Statistics show that East Africa’s population grew by 24 million between 2005 and 2010 and it is estimated to reach 237 million by 2030. With an increased population and higher population density, the pressures on the region’s natural resources may intensify further.
jolanyo@gmail.com
