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The EAC | The political and economic integration of the East African Community

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#1 ·
EAC
East African Community





__________________________________________


Member states
Burundi - Kenya - Rwanda - Tanzania - Uganda






 
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#112 ·
American investors on EAC trade mission
Capital FM
1 December 2014


Over 15 delegates representing 10 American companies are on a 10 days tour in the East African region to explore business opportunities.

Lead by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) Chief Executive Officer and President Stephen Hayes, the delegation arrived in Kenya on Sunday as its first stop before it heads to Rwanda on Thursday and later to Uganda.

Speaking when the delegation was hosted by the Vision 2030 Delivery Board Secretariat in Nairobi on Monday, Hayes said they were exploring business opportunities in the agribusiness, energy and infrastructure sectors among others.

“We will continue to be a primary partner to Kenya. We think we can make a difference for Kenya and also to the United States. I think it’s enough of talking of what we can do for Africa but what we should do with Africa,” Hayes noted.

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#113 ·
EAC-Germany Sign Intergovernmental Agreement on GAVI
East African Community
1 December 2014


The Signing ceremony of the Intergovernmental Agreement for the new phase of the GAVI Program in the EAC and the Financing Agreement for the Aga Khan University’s Graduate School for Media and Communication was held today at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Secretary General of the East African Community Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera and the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in the United Republic of Tanzania also accredited to the EAC, HE Egon Kochanke signed the Intergovernmental Agreement for the new phase of GAVI Alliance programme.

At the same occasion, a Financing and Project Agreement between KfW, Frankfurt am Main (KfW) and the East African Community (EAC) (Recipient) and Aga Khan University (AKU) (Project-Executing Agency) for EUR 14 million to support the Aga Khan University’s Graduate School of Media and Communications (AKU-GSMC) was also initialled.

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#115 ·
US audit firm’s Sh200m plan to deepen business in EAC
The Standard
8 December 2014

A global audit, tax and advisory firm will spend about Sh200 million to deepen its presence in the East African Community (EAC) market in the next one year.

The US-based Grant Thornton International Ltd, already with offices in Kenya, said it will soon open offices in Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda to assist investors set up business in the region.

The firm’s Business Development and Markets Global Leader Gernot Hebestreit said the announcement is informed by the increased local and international investments in the region, mainly Kenya.

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#116 ·
Burundi ratifies the EAC Monetary Union Protocol
Iwacu
9 December 2014

Burundi has joined Rwanda and Tanzania in ratifying the East African Community Monetary Union Protocol.

The Protocol aims to harmonize monetary and fiscal policies and establish a common central bank for the East African Community. It is thought that a monetary union, with the absence of currency risk, provides a greater incentive for trade.
The protocol is like a roadmap that will lead to the adoption of the Monetary Union. By ratifying the Protocol, Burundi commits to implementing the activities on the agenda.

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#120 ·
Uganda parliament approves single East African currency

The Ugandan parliament this week passed a motion approving the establishment of the East African Monetary Union, which will see Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi adopting a single common currency.
Uganda's Minister of State for Finance Planning, Matia Kasaija, said the monetary union is intended to promote and maintain monetary and financial stability aimed at facilitating economic integration to attain sustainable growth and development of the East African Community.


"The East African Community summit shall pronounce the formation and commencement of the single currency area and will determine the name of the currency, which shall be the legal tender of the area," Kasaija said.
According to provisions of the protocol for the establishment of the East African Monetary Union (EAMU), partner states agreed to harmonise and coordinate their fiscal policies, formulate and implement a single monetary policy and a single exchange rate policy, and to develop and integrate financial payment and settlement systems.


In addition, the states will integrate their financial management systems and harmonise their financial accounting and reporting practices.
The monetary union is the third stage, following the customs union and the common market, towards the full realisation of a political federation for the five countries in the region.
Partner States also agreed, according to the treaty, to cooperate in monetary and financial matters.


It is unlikely that South Sudan and Somalia, who recently applied to join the five member regional body will use the currency until they are accorded full membership.
"The monetary union will contribute to the achievement of harmonious, balanced and sustainable economic development, sustainable and non-inflationary economic growth, intra-regional economic and financial system, and efficient allocation of resources for economic development," Kasaija said.

Members of the Ugandan business community say they are eagerly waiting the single regional currency.
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#121 ·
Rwanda first to ratify joint EAC defence pact
The East African
3 January 2015

Rwanda has become the first member of the EAC to ratify the East African Community Mutual Defence Pact for regional co-operation.

President Paul Kagame has assented to the protocol, and the instruments of ratification to be exchanged with partner states have already been issued.

Meanwhile, Kenya is waiting for the protocol to be presented to parliament; in Uganda, the Cabinet has already approved the protocol and submitted it to parliament for ratification.

The pact, agreed to by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, aims to lay the foundation for EAC states to play a bigger role in fighting trans-national crime. The three countries have also committed troops to the East Africa Standby Force, which is backed by the United Nations.
Once adopted, the pact will allow armed forces from member countries to conduct joint military operations when combating terrorism and other international crimes.

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#122 ·
Ugandan Parliament okays motion on regional single currency
Pesa Times
6 January 2015

Uganda's Parliament, in December, passed a motion approving the establishment of the East African Monetary Union, which will see Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi adopting a single common currency.

Uganda’s Minister of State for Finance, Matia Kasaija, said the monetary union is intended to promote and maintain monetary and financial stability aimed at facilitating economic integration to attain sustainable growth and development of the East African Community.

“The East African Community summit shall pronounce the formation and commencement of the single currency area and will determine the name of the currency, which shall be the legal tender of the area,” Kasaija said.

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#123 ·
AfDB lauds East African Community on integration
People Daily
8 January 2015

The East African Community (EAC) is doing particularly well among African regional blocs seeking integration, according to the latest report from the African Development Bank (AfDB) covering the year 2014.

For instance, the EAC, alongside the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), has made the most notable progress towards the free movement of persons. This is despite the fact that member countries are yet to harmonise their procedures for movement of workers to conform to the requirements of the East African Common Market Protocol.

The report says the absence of migration regimes that support regional integration has left Africa with some of the world’s most onerous visa restrictions, especially for people wishing to enter another African country.

“All regions except East Africa have visa requirements above the world average; indeed, North Americans and Europeans face fewer visa requirements to enter African countries than Africans do,” the report says.
 
#124 ·
East African Community to create "single tourist area" – official
Star Africa
13 January 2015

The East African Community (EAC), which comprises Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, intends to become “a single tourist area” under its vast regional integration project, APA learns here on Tuesday.

"We want to make the East African Community a single tourist area with a single tourist visa", EAC Secretary General, Richard Sezibera said during a press conference held at the organization’s headquarters in Arusha, northern Tanzania.

The use of the single tourist visa has been in force since last year for Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya which are determined to move faster than the other two members on the path of economic integration.

"Tanzania has announced that it wants to join the single tourist visa. This is very important. Burundi has also expressed interest in joining the system", Mr. Sezibera said.

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#125 ·
East Africa to Unveil New Machine Readable Passports
Tanzania Daily News
15 January 2015

New machine readable East African Passports that will also allow holders to travel around the world, will be unveiled next November and start to be issued to citizens of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi shortly after.

The new state-of-the-art electronic EA travel documents are to be officially launched by the five Heads of State during their forthcoming summit in Arusha on 30, November 2015, according to the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Dr Richard Sezibera.

The now fully upgraded new EAC passports have been made to fully comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, which means they can easily replace national passports among the residents of the five East African countries.

The ICAO standardises and publishes Doc 9303, Machine Readable Travel Documents, which form the basis for the technical standard for machine-readable passports worldwide.

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#126 ·
East Africa’s One Network Area Is Picking Up Steam
Ventures Africa
16 January 2015

As part of ongoing regional integration efforts, the East African Community (EAC), last year, agreed to harmonize telecommunications services within the region such that all calls between member countries will be billed as though they were local calls, this was received with excitement among the member nations. Implementation of the initiative dubbed the “One Network Area” was slated to begin on Monday, 1st September, 2014.

As implementation continues, Safaricom has made moves to discount roaming rates for roaming calls made in Uganda following the adoption of the One Network Area initiative by the country. Recently, the telco operator had also cut roaming rates for its subscribers in 21 countries.

Because of this, Safaricom subscribers will receive calls for free while roaming in Uganda, they will also enjoy a flat rate of Kshs 10 ($0.11) for calls between Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, a 95 percent reduction from the former rate of Kshs 215 ($2.35) a minute.

“This is a significant step towards the greater East Africa integration. A reduction of this kind will boost trade opportunities between these two key East African nations. We remain committed to identifying more opportunities to lower roaming rates for more countries in the region,” commented Bob Collymore, Safaricom’s CEO.

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#127 ·
Indians told to wake up to EAC
East African Businessweek
18 January 2015

The realisation of a large regional economic bloc with a combined population of more than 141.1 million people, land area of 1.82 million square kilometres and a combined Gross Domestic Product of $99.8 billion, bears great strategic and geopolitical significance and prospects of a renewed and reinvigorated East African Community (EAC).

The EAC aims at deepening economic, social and political integration and enhance the region’s competitiveness through enhanced value chain, trade and investments. To achieve such goals, the EAC countries established a Customs Union in 2005 and a Common Market in 2010 which provides “four Freedoms” namely, free movement of goods, labour, services and capital, to significantly boost trade and investments and make the region more productive and prosperous.

EAC Partner States also qualify for duty-free access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), as well as European Union (EU), and the Common market of Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA).

Reforms and a growing participation in global trade has helped the EAC region to grow. It has been the second fastest growing economic bloc in the world in recent years with an average growth of 5.8% in 2012 (behind ASEAN at 6.1%) which is the best rate of growth in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda showed a robust annual growth of over 7% from 2002 to 2012, and the total FDI inflow in the EAC region has almost tripled from $1.3 billion in 2005 to $3.8 billion in 2012.

All countries in the EAC region have recognised the private sector as an essential growth engine for economic and social development and have introduced favourable policies to attract domestic and foreign investment. Governments are encouraging investment by providing fiscal incentives, establishing Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and industrial parks, setting up exports and investment promotion agencies (IPAs), and doing outreach activities.

The EAC region is projected to continue showing a strong macro-economic performance in coming years. According to the World Bank, Rwanda’s economy is projected to grow by 7.5% in 2015, Tanzania 6.8%, Uganda 6.2%, Kenya 4.9% and Burundi by 4.3%.

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#129 ·
EAC Cooperative Societies Bill Sails through Second Reading
East African Community
23 January 2015

The regional Assembly is on the verge of enacting the EAC Cooperative Societies Bill, 2014. EALA Members late yesterday extensively debated the Bill, before passing it through its second reading.

The debate which resumed following interruption on October 28, 2014, was preceded by the presentation of the Report of the Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources (ATNR) by the new Chairperson, Hon Abdulkarim Harelimana.

The Report followed the Public hearings which took place on September 12th – 22nd, 2014 in the EAC Partner States and that involved technical presentations and national stakeholder consultations. Participants at the public hearings included various co-operative organisations from different sectors including representatives from co-operative organisations who made significant contributions.

The Report observes that there is need to have a regional bill to promote the integration of co-operatives in the region. The Members proposed a raft of changes on the Bill right from the formation and registration of Societies, democratic member control, concern for the community in general, autonomy and independence all considered and deemed to be key to the existence of the Bill.

The Report notes that there is need to have specific clauses that allow for the co-operatives to promote and benefit the regional integration agenda. According to information obtained from public hearings, a Bill of this nature would go the mile in enabling regional responses to challenges facing the sector.

The Bill is based on the understanding that each Partner State shall undertake to encourage the efficient use of resources and to promote the development of private sector organisations which are engaged in all types of economic activities, such as the chambers of commerce and industry, confederations and associations of industry, agriculture among others. At national level, co-operators bear the primary responsibility to develop themselves but it is worth mentioning that regional and international support and cooperation may be needed to supplement domestic efforts. During debate, Hon Nancy Abisai noted that the Bill was holistic as it cuts across the needs of all sectors.

“The idea of pulling together of resources through cooperatives has seen many, especially women fundamentally progress and develop. People within co-operatives are today able to borrow funds based on low interest rates and this is very key,” Hon Abisai said.

Hon Leonce Ndarubagiye termed co-operatives as ideal stating they were the hallmark in communist and capitalist countries alike. The legislator remarked that many successful stories had been realized through creation of co-operatives and said a regional bill regulating cooperative societies was timely.

Hon Patricia Hajabakiga noted that the Bill was at the very core of every co-operative society since it enhances development and added that it touches on the interests and pockets of beneficiaries.

She hailed the mover of the Bill, Hon Mike Sebalu for his commitment and appreciated the role of Hon Isabelle Ndahayo, the Chair Emeritus of the ATNR Committee, which was associated with the Bill.

Hon Saoli Ole Nkanae said co-operatives were key in integration. “We need to move with haste to pass this key Bill” he remarked.
Hon Nusura Tiperu said the passage of the Bill would positively impact on the local citizens. “It is a key piece of legislation that is in partial fulfilment of Article 105 and 128 of the Treaty for the EAC”, she said.

Hon Maryam Ussi, Hon AbuBakr Zein, Hon Peter Mathuki, Hon Celestine Kabahizi, and Hon Dr. James Ndahiro all supported the Motion. On his part, the Counsel to the Community, Hon Wilbert Kaahwa said the Bill in its various clauses met the values and ethos of co-operative principles. The Bill, Hon Kaahwa also added, is in tandem with the legislation on co-operatives in the Partner States.

The Council of Ministers through the Chair, Hon Dr. Abdallah Saadala was emphatic that common consensus had been arrived at in their deliberations with the ATNR Committee.

The mover of the Bill, Hon Mike Sebalu termed the Bill demand driven and one that is a tool of transformation and empowerment for primary producers.

Next week, the Assembly is expected to re-constitute itself into a Committee of the whole House to scrutinise through the Bill clause by clause.

Meanwhile, the Assembly has granted Hon Christophe Bazivamo leave to introduce a Private Member’s Bill entitled “The East African Community Forest Management and Protection Bill”. This is pursuant to the provisions of Article 59(1) of the Treaty and Rule 64 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
 
#133 ·

Talks on the admission of South Sudan into the East African Community are set to take centre stage at the EAC Heads of State Summit scheduled for February 20 in Nairobi. Also top on the agenda is the verification of an application by the war-torn Federal Republic of Somalia to join the five-member regional economic bloc.
The EAC members rejected South Sudan’s bid in December 2012 because of its periodic conflict with neighbouring Sudan. The lack of a democratic culture that has seen the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement ( SPLM) run roughshod over other political parties, could also have dented the young nation’s chance.
Somalia’s ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali Noor exuded confidence that the country was considered a prime candidate to the EAC following a raft of key initiatives that he believes have lifted the country’s profile in the eyes of the international community. “We believe that it is now time to join the EAC. Since that Igad meeting, peace is coming back to Somalia and there is prosperity and construction,” he said.
 
#137 ·
Both countries should join, especially now that the armies of Burundi, Kenya and Uganda are in Somalia. and the Ugandan army is in South Sudan.

Nobody realises it but Somalia is actually a good candidate. Somalia is actually a parliamentary democracy, and is more of a democracy than a lot of countries in Africa. Somalia has a larger coastline than any country in Africa. A large coastline, if well explored means good access to international markets. Turkey and Gulf countries will soon be pouring a lot more FDI in Somalia. Somaliland is actually very stable, so only southern Somalia remains to be stabilised.

The Al-Shabaab element has been weakened and so they've resorted to attacking remote towns and malls. The attacks from Al-Shabaab have actually forced security agencies in the EAC to modernise.

The EAC should assign Somalia special status, let them have the joint market policies of the EAC member states, but that immigration using IDs should be given a 10 year period.

As for South Sudan the peace deal has stopped the fighting so they should be allowed to join.
 
#136 · (Edited)
South Sudan should join the EAC...this would make us (coalition of willing) be more straight forward with them...

As of Somalia....no

Until they are capable of holding themselves down, in they mean time they can wait.

but we can give them privileges that will have them be very close to COW
 
#140 ·
they can trade with the bloc on special terms. they could also join the east africa military unit, one call network etc etc etc......but there should be no free movement of people yet otherwise we could find al-shabaab setting up training camps in garissa and/or riek machar running a civil war from northern uganda.

in other words.....there are some things the EAC block can work with them without allowing them to fully join the bloc and in a progressive manner.....the more they get their houses in order the more the block should open more areas of cooperation with Somalia and south sudan
 
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