2020: EAC needs to fight for its survival

The year 2019 has not been good for the East African Community (EAC).
The EAC is celebrating its 20th Anniversary under the theme “Deepening Integration, Widening Cooperation” two things that are slowly sliding away from the community.
The six partner states are integrating less and more examples of non-cooperation are presenting themselves each day.
It is unsurprising, therefore, that 2019 is ending with the Heads of State failing to meet. Their scheduled meeting was pushed to next year. Our hope is that it will happen soon, and more importantly, that the leaders will have the courage and foresight to solve the major differences that are almost knocking the region into a crisis.

The bloc comprised of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan should be working on improving trade relations and give true meaning to the common market and a customs union that have already been ratified. The clock is already ticking on the monetary union and single East African currency.
There is need for the partner states to work harder, to fast-track the development of the bloc by putting aside or settling the political disputes and other wrangles that stand in the way.
In 2020, we hope the EAC countries will have a serious conversation and solutions on levies and taxes imposed on products in and out of their respective territories. These include, among others, road levy, VAT and withholding tax. There are concerns such as delays in clearing goods, among other things.

Data by the EAC shows that intra-EAC trade increased from $2.7b in 2016 to $2.9b in 2017 and to US$3.3 billion in 2018. This commendable growth is unsustainable when the partner states are fighting or suspicious of each other. Kenya should be able to do business with Tanzania, Uganda with Rwanda, Burundi with Rwanda etc. If any of them can’t or is curtailed in some way then the progress registered will fall.

We urge respective partner states to resolve the existing non-tariff barriers to trade among them and also facilitate the cross-border movement of persons and goods.
The benefits of abolition of visa fees for EAC nationals traveling within the region, the reduction of days of clearing goods both in the Central Corridor and the Northern Corridor are evident and need not to be explained further. We, therefore, urge the leaders of the EAC partner states to talk infrastructure, security, population quality etc and not engage in petty squabbles that undermine our progress.