East Africans to wait for 10 years to get common currency, officials say

 

Most of the roads in Uganda are in this state which has affected several sectors including tourism. Photo by Abubaker Lubowa. 

In Summary

Ms Zziwa said the debate on when the region would have a single currency would start when the Monetary Union Protocol is ratified.

The move to have a common currency for East Africa will be implemented over a period of 10 years, officials have said.

 The chairperson of the East African Council of Ministers, Mr Shem Bageine and regional Speaker Margaret Zziwa made the remarks on Monday in Kampala.

 Speaking to journalists at Parliament, the regional legislators said debating and realising a situation of a single currency in the region at a go was difficult because all member states operate at different levels.

 “Countries have different GDPs, different exchange rates. All those have to be harmonised and agreed on so that we set up institutions like the East African Bank that will help us avoid pitfalls like what is happening in the European Union,” Mr Bageine, who is also Uganda’s junior minister for East Africa, said.

 He said the Monetary Union Protocol could be signed on November 30.

 Mr Bageine, however, said the protocol had already been discussed over seven times by representatives of community member states and reported their deliberations to their respective ministers of finance.

 “Seventy-seven clauses of the protocol have been discussed and many clauses have been agreed upon and we expect a report to come to the Council of Ministers later this year so that we can see whether it can be ready by November this year for ratification by the member Heads of State,” he said.

 Ms Zziwa said the debate on when the region would have a single currency would start when the Monetary Union Protocol is ratified.

 “The process to have one currency will be implemented in 10 years but all will start when the protocol is signed,” she said.

 The monetary union is the third step towards the realisation of a fully-fledged East African Union.

 So far, the five member states have ratified the Customs Union Protocol, the Common Market Protocol, and are remaining with a political federation.

The countries in the bloc are Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

 Mr Bageine said leaders EAC member countries already have a model they were considering for the political federation.

 Although the Customs Union and the Common Market union were ratified, some countries have failed to comply with the provisions by hindering free movement of east Africans in the region.

 “We agreed that let our people be able to move freely in their region,” said Ms Zziwa. “But we realise that passports are expensive for some people. So, we are focusing so much on identity cards by member states so that one can be identified as an East African but from a particular country.”

 

 The EALA members are in Uganda for the sixth meeting of the first session of the third East African Legislative Assembly which will take place at Parliament from May 26 to June 6.

 A special sitting will be addressed by President Museveni on June 5 but other meetings of the House will consider the budget speech that shall be delivered by the chair of the council of ministers on May 30.

 The MPs will also debate the EAC Vehicle Load Control Bill 2012 and the EAC appropriation Bill. They will also debate and adopt various committee reports on oversight of EAC activities, motions and resolutions.