Born in anonymity

Ambitious: A roadmap has been laid out for the EAC. East Africa will be one super-state in five years and elect a common president in eight years. Is that really realistic?

By Tina Loevbom Petersen and Michael Bech

10. April 2005

The politicians are clapping their hands. This is a project for the future and it will benefit all East Africans, they claim. But so far most East Africans don’t even know of the existence of the East African Community (EAC).

The EAC might be born in anonymity and with no real participation from East African citizens. But the politicians behind the new union are aiming high with a very ambitious roadmap.

By July 2005 a new Constitutional Commission has to start working on a preliminary constitution that has to be the backbone of the federation by December 2007. The new East African super-state will obey by this constitution when the federation is planned to launch in 2010 – in five years.

It doesn’t seem realistic for the new and fragile union to have a common constitution by then. Kenya is still struggling to change it’s old constitution – and has done so for 12 years. If Kenya finally makes it to a new constitution will the country then have to render it irrelevant by a federal constitution?

Agreed on customs

The first landmark of the EAC has been taken. A Customs Union is agreed upon and it has been working since January 2005. The idea is to have people enjoy the wider market in East Africa and to increase effective competition aimed at the global market.

The customs union has to lead to a common market and monetary union eventually ending up as the political federation in 2010. To make this ambitious journey possible a lot of commitment is needed from each country – also from the ‘man on the street’, who is still not aware of the plans.

So far the free movement of people across borders in the region is not a high priority. And that might very well lead to less interest and commitment in the whole idea from the ‘common man and woman’ in the electorate. The free movement of people has been reduced, so work and entry permits are still needed.

Forget the kingdoms

Kenya might be the dark horse in the EAC. The country has the least to gain and benefit of the three countries, and will be imposed extra duty the first 10 years in the Customs Union on certain goods, while the Kenyans are not allowed to charge any tariffs on imports from Tanzania and Uganda. And in the manufacturing sector, Kenya has to allow the other two countries a five-year period to draw level. That might be some mouthful for some Kenyans.

One of the things behind the collapse of the former EAC was the demand from Kenya to have more seats than Uganda and Tanzania in the decision-making organs. Kenya is still the main contributor to EAC and the ‘big’ power in East Africa. Will the country now settle with the same number of seats and employed in the EAC as the other two countries?

The new community will need a new vision and a great deal more determination than in the ‘old’ EAC that finally collapsed due to too many disagreements between the partners. The politicians have to let go of the urge to safeguard their own territories and ‘kingdoms’. If the new EAC is haunted by the same red tape and corruption as it has existed in the three countries separately, the EAC will surely die young.

Tina Loevbom Petersen is information worker at MS Tanzania
Michael Bech is MS Tanzania's information officer