EAC INTEGRATION SLOW DOWN DUE TO MISTRUST

BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

Slow integration progress made in the East African Community (EAC) is partly attributed to little commitment among some partner states.

A regional conference of the civil society organizations (CSOs) was told  in Arusha last week that some countries were suspicious of each other.

"We fear each other in the EAC," said  Ms Lina C. Asiimwe, programme officer with a regional NGO based in Uganda.

She said even when a new protocol is introduced in the region only a few countries would initially sign "due to initial fears".

This also applied to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement which saw few member states in the bloc ratifying it.

Ms Asiimwe was speaking at the Civil Society Summit organized by the East African Civil Society Organizations' Forum (EACSOF).

The Forum is an institution of the EAC established in 2009 and primarily tasked to push for regional integration through people's participation.

Ms Asiimwe, who works with Kampala-based Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative (EASSI), implored the EAC partner states "not to fear each other".

Another Speaker Jane Nalunga, also from Uganda, said numerous travel restrictions across the EAC borders do not augur well for trade.

"Lots of taxes remain despite efforts to scrap them. Some border officials have taken advantage of the situation to seek bribes", she said.

Allan Moses, activist from Tanzania, said the EAC should put in place a barometer to identify hurdles hampering integration matters.

"This should be modelled on 'kero za Muungano' (hurdles that faced the Union) in Tanzania that are being sorted out one by one ", he told one of the parallel sessions on AfCFTA.

Mr. Moses, who is the President of Friends of East Africa - an Arusha-based lobby, also spoke on security challenges facing new EAC members.

He said there were more security challenges facing the bloc now after the admission of South Sudan and the DR Congo (DRC).

"They should be addressed now before they derail our integration efforts", he said, noting that the EAC member states should speak with one voice.

The EAC bloc currently has seven partner states; Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya being the founding members when it was revived in the 1990s.

Burundi and Rwanda joined in 2007 followed by South Sudan and DR Congo in 2016 and 2022 respectively.

Currently, efforts are underway to admit Somalia in the economic bloc amid hints that Ethiopia, one of Africa's fast growing economies, is eying for admission.