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Admission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into the EAC: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

1. An overview of the journey of DRC joining the bloc

1. An overview of the journey of DRC joining the bloc

  • In June 2019,the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), H.E. Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, wrote to the then EAC Chairperson, President of Rwanda, H.E. Paul Kagame, expressing his country's wish to be a member of the bloc
  • On 27 February, 2021 during their 21st Ordinary Meeting, the Summit of the EAC Heads of State considered the application by DRC to join the Community and directed the EAC Council of Ministers to expeditiously undertake a Verification Mission in accordance with the EAC procedure for admission of new members.
  • In July 2021,the EAC undertook a Verification Mission to the DRC with the objective of establishing the country’s level of conformity in accordance with Article 3 (2) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC.
  • On 22 December, 2021 the 19th Extra-Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State received and considered the report of the Verification Mission to DRC and directed the Council to expeditiously commence and conclude negotiations with the DRC for admission into the bloc..
  • The negotiations between the EAC and DRC were successfully conducted from 15 to 24 January, 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya, with Kinshasa reaffirming willingness to be part of the bloc.
  • Following the negotiations, the EAC Council of Ministers recommended to the Summit to consider admitting DRC into the Community in accordance with Article 3 (3) of the Treaty.
  • On 29 March, 2022 the Summit of EAC Heads of State at their 19th Extra-Ordinary Meeting, admitted DRC into the EAC following the recommendation by the EAC Council of Ministers. The Chairperson of the Summit and President of Kenya, H.E Uhuru Kenyatta, informed the meeting that DRC had met all the set criteria for admission as provided for in the Treaty.

2. What is the process of integrating DRCs into the bloc?

3. How will DRC’s admission contribute to the strengthening of integration within the East African region?

4. What are the benefits of DRC joining the EAC?

5. How is the EAC preparing to accommodate Swahili and French as official languages?

6. How is EAC prepared to handle the cases of instability and conflict in DRC?

7. How is EAC addressing the issue of Non-Tariff Barriers?

8. Why is the EAC not changing its name now that DRC which sits in Central and Western Africa has joined the bloc?

9. Can any country join the EAC or what parameters are used to allow some?

10. What is the progress of admission of countries like Somalia which have applied to join?

11. Will EAC be updating their logo to include the new members?

About EAC

overview of eac cta

Overview of EAC

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation founded in 1999. The work of the EAC is guided by its Treaty (2000) which established the Community.

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eac partner states cta

EAC Partner States

The EAC is currently made up of eight Partner States: the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. Admission to the Community is guided by criteria spelt out in Article 3 of the EAC Treaty.

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EAC Organs

The EAC organs are the Summit, the Council of Ministers, the Co-ordinating Committee, the Sectoral Committees, the East African Court of Justice, the East African Legislative Assembly and the Secretariat.

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the secretariat cta

The Secretariat

The Secretariat is one of the main organs of the East African Community. The Secretariat is the executive Organ of the Community and is based in Arusha, Tanzania.                                                                  

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EAC Institutions

The EAC also has nine (9) institutions, three of which became operational in July 2015. All have their own leadership and their budgets are drawn from the consolidated, annual EAC budget

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Leadership Team

At the head of the EAC is the Summit. The Secretary-General is appointed by the Summit upon nomination by the relevant Head of State under the principle of rotation, and serves for 5 years.

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Fraud Alert

Beware of scams implying association with the East African Community Organs and Institutions

The EAC Secretariat has been made aware of certain correspondence being circulated via email, from websites, and via regular mail or facsimile, falsely stating that it is issued by, or in association with the EAC Secretariat and / or its officials. These scams, which may seek to obtain money and / or in many cases personal details from the recipients of such correspondence, are fraudulent.

The EAC is in no way connected with these scams - the people behind them are not employees of the EAC and they are not acting on its behalf.

Please note that:

  • The EAC does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training or other fee).
  • The EAC does not request any information related to bank accounts or other private information.
  • The EAC does not offer prizes, awards, funds, certificates, scholarships or conduct lotteries through email, mail or fax.

The EAC strongly recommends that the recipients of solicitations such as those described above exercise extreme caution in respect of such solicitations. Financial loss and identity theft could result from the transfer of money or personal information to those issuing such fraudulent correspondence. Victims of such scams should report them to their local law enforcement authorities.

Should you have any doubts about the authenticity of an email, letter or telephone communication purportedly from, for, or on behalf of the EAC and / or its officials, please send us an email query before taking any further action in relation to the correspondence.

Email: eac@eachq.org

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However, if you are still looking for more information then you can contact us through one of our preferred contact methods.

Email: webteam@eachq.org

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The East African Community is committed to user privacy.

Certain information about the user, such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, navigation through site, software used, time spent and other similar information, may be stored on the EAC servers in small data pieces known as "cookies", which may also be written to the User’s computer system.

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The information will be used internally only for web portal traffic analysis.

If the user specifically provides unique identifying information, such as name, address and other information on forms stored on this portal, such information will only be used for statistical purposes and will not be published for general access.

The East African Community, however, assumes no responsibility for the security of this information.


East African Community
EAC Close
Afrika Mashariki Road
P.O. Box 1096
Arusha
United Republic of Tanzania

Tel: +255 (0)27 216 2100
Fax: +255 (0)27 216 2190
Email: eac@eachq.org