By Abdullah Mwinyi
Unlike the first
community of 1967 to 1977, the current East African Community
integra-tion process
is people-centred and private sector driven. It was
designed to be a bottom up integration. History and experience shows it
is the only way for such an undertaking to be sustainable.
The stated
objectives of the community are the development of policies and
programmes aimed at widening and deepening cooperation among the partner
states in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research and
technology, defence, security and legal and judicial affairs for their
mutual benefits.
In order to achieve
these objectives, the Partner States (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda,
Burundi and South Sudan) established a Customs Union, a Com-mon Market
and in the process of establishing a Monetary Union and ultimately a
Political Federation.
The process is
moving from one phase of integration to the next is fluid, that is not
every aspect of that phase of integration needs to be fully implemented
prior to progressing to the next phase. The integration agenda is a long
political process and not a single event.
Currently,
significant parts of the Customs Union and the Common Market has been
implemented. We have a common external tariff and internal trade is duty
and tariff free subject to the rules of origin. We have free movement
of goods, persons, labour, services, capital, information and technology
and citizens have a right of establishment in any Part-ner State. All
the freedoms have some exceptions.
Free movement of persons
Article 7(1) and
(2) of the Common Market Protocol requires partner states to guarantee
free movement of persons to citizens of other partner states within
their territories.
Each Partner State
must ensure non-discrimination of citizens of other partner states by
ensuring that there are no visa requirements on entry, no restrictions
of movement within the partner state, that they are allowed to stay and
no restrictions of exit.
Article 7(5) of the
Common Market Protocol provides limitation of this freedom on public
policy, public security and public health grounds. The recent border
closures between the partner states were on the basis of public health
limitation occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is perfectly in line with the Treaty, the Common Market Protocol and prudent public health practice.
What transpired at the Kenya and Tanzania borders is a classic example of escalation occasioned by a false sense of patriotism.
As a result of
testing and high numbers of infected persons in the trucking industry
from the Tanzanian side, it forced the Kenyan government to close the
border to the movement of persons. There was no restriction of the
movement of goods subject to the truck drivers being tested for Covid-19
and proven to be negative.
A perfectly
reasonable and plausible decision in light with the public health risk.
This also happened at the Zambia/Tanzania border and Rwanda/Tanzania
border.
It is there-fore
very unlikely that it's a cynical attempt at taking trade advantage by
our cunning cousins residing north of the border.
Unity at this
critical time is crucial and chest beating "patriots" advocating for
disunity that may result in a trade war should be ignored and strongly
condemned.
Importance of the EAC
There are two
centres of power in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ecowas in West Africa with
Nigeria its centre of gravity and South Africa to the south aided and
abetted by the SADC group.
The East African Community (EAC) can make this duopoly a tripartite. A strong EAC can change the geopolitics of the continent.
Currently with a
population of two hundred million, with DRC and Somalia on the waiting
list and maybe even Ethiopia in the future this block could not only be
the most significant continental entity but also a relevant global
entity.
The advantage that
we have over all other continental regional economic groups is our
deeper levels of integra-tion as well as our ambitious aims of being a
political federation. Further there is an inherent flex-ibility within
the group.
Article 7(1)(e) of
the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community under the
operational principles of the com-munity, provides for the principle of
variable geometry.
This allows for
progression in co-operation among groups within the Community for wider
integration schemes in various fields and at different speeds.
This was painted in
bad light a few years ago when the press branded Rwanda, Uganda and
Kenya as the so called "coalition of the willing". Far from being
negative, it is a great strength.
It provides the
required flex-ibility for the more ambitious partner states to progress
faster and further than the rest. Those that are a little tentative are
close enough to see the advantages and challenges and can join the group
after seeing tangible benefits and devising means of miti-gating any
challenges in advance of the process.
We should not allow this great project to be undermined by parochial technocrats
Abdullah Mwinyi is an experienced corporate lawyer. He was also a member of the East African Legislative Assembly for ten years
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