Progress in the EAC Common Market

Posted in EACat25

The East African Community (EAC) Common Market, launched in 2010, has been instrumental in deepening regional integration, facilitating trade, and driving economic development across the East African region. By promoting the free movement of goods, services, people, and capital, the EAC Common Market aims to create a single regional economic space where the economies of the Partner States can grow in a more integrated, efficient, and inclusive manner.

Social Rights and Development

The Common Market has made significant strides in advancing social rights, particularly by facilitating the free movement of people, which has opened opportunities for cross-border employment, education, and social services. The right to reside and establish businesses across the region has led to greater mobility for the workforce, with millions of citizens benefiting from access to better employment opportunities and a broader regional job market. This mobility has also promoted cultural exchange and social cohesion, helping build a more integrated East African community.

The EAC has also implemented policies that promote social inclusion, including the EAC Social Development Policy Framework, which focuses on improving access to education, healthcare, and other essential social services. The EAC region has also benefited from collaborative health initiatives, such as the EAC Health Strategy, which has fostered cross-border cooperation on disease control, vaccination programmes, and the management of health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. The region’s joint approach to public health challenges has been critical in ensuring a coordinated response to epidemics and health emergencies, strengthening the resilience of the social systems.

Capital Mobility and Investment

Capital mobility is another key component of the EAC Common Market, which has created a more conducive environment for investment across the region. The development and harmonisation of financial regulations have made it easier for investors to operate across borders. The EAC also launched the EAC Investment Promotion Strategy to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and promote regional investment in sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and technology.

Trade and Productive Sector Development

One of the key achievements of the EAC Common Market has been the elimination of barriers to intra-regional trade, particularly the reduction of tariffs and non-tariff barriers. This has resulted in an impressive increase in trade among Partner States, with intra-regional trade growing from 10% of the total EAC trade in the early 2000s to over 20% in recent years. The introduction of a Common External Tariff (CET) has further streamlined trade by ensuring uniform customs duties across all EAC Partner States.

In the productive sectors, the Common Market has fostered the establishment of regional value chains, particularly in agriculture and manufacturing. For example, the integration of the agricultural sector has enhanced food security, improved agricultural productivity, and facilitated the movement of agricultural products across borders. Various regional programmes have been in an effort to increase productivity and competitiveness in the sector.  The Agriculture sector accounts for 25%-40% of EAC Partner States (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and Republic of South Sudan) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is a leading employer for over 80% of the population in the region. In manufacturing, initiatives such as the East African Industry Investment Strategy focus on promoting regional industrialization through joint ventures, technology transfer, and harmonized policies.

Infrastructure Development

Infrastructure development has been a cornerstone of the EAC Common Market, with significant investments in transportation, energy, and ICT designed to enhance connectivity and facilitate trade. Regional infrastructure projects, such as the expansion of the East African Railway Network and the development of key Transport Corridors such as the Northern Corridor and the Central Corridor, have improved the movement of goods and people within the region. The construction and expansion of major ports, such as the Mombasa Port and Dar es Salaam Port as well as the implementation of regional transport standard such as the EAC Vehicle Load Control Regulations have further boosted intra-regional trade.

The EAC has also prioritized energy infrastructure integration, with projects like the EAC Regional Power Pool, which aims to enhance electricity generation, distribution, and cross-border energy interconnectivity. The pooling of resources and expertise in energy generation has helped address the region’s energy deficit, providing a more reliable and affordable power supply for industries and households.

Similarly, the EAC’s efforts in digital infrastructure, including regional broadband networks, have enhanced access to information technology, promoting innovation, e-commerce, and digital trade.

The EAC Common Market has been a driving force behind regional integration, creating a more dynamic and competitive East African economy. The EAC remains committed to realise the full implementation of the Freedoms and Rights as provided for under the Common Market Protocol and the harmonization of sectoral policies across all the Partner States.

Read More on Sectors under the Common Market:

Agriculture and Food Security

 

Enhancing food security and rational agricultural and livestock within the Community through harmonisation of agricultural policies as well as joint programmes for efficient and effective production.

Culture

Embracing Culture and Sports as both enablers and drivers of a people-centered integration agenda through the promotion and enhancement of diverse sports activities and the promotion and preservation of our culture is of paramount importance.

Customs

 

Undertaking joint action towards the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases and to control pandemics and epidemics of communicable and vector-borne diseases.

Education, Science and Technology

Recognising the fundamental importance of education, science and technology in economic development through harmonized curricula, examination, certification and accreditation institutions.

Energy

 

Adopting policies and mechanisms to promote the efficient exploitation, development, joint research and utilisation of various energy resources available within the region.

Environment and Natural Resources

Coordinating, harmonising and complementing transport and communications policies; improving and expanding the existing transport and communication links; and establishing new ones.

Gender, Community Development and Civil Society

 

Adopting common approaches towards the disadvantaged and marginalised groups, including women, children, the youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities aimed at employment creation, poverty alleviation and improving working conditions.

Health

Undertaking joint action towards the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases and to control pandemics and epidemics of communicable and vector-borne diseases.

Immigration and Labour

 

Accelerating economic growth and development of the Partner States by facilitating the free movement of persons and labour through the adoption of common policies and procedures.

Industrialisation and SME Development

Improving the competitiveness of the industrial sector so as to enhance the expansion of trade in industrial goods within the Community and the export of industrial goods from the Partner States.

Infrastructure

 

Coordinating, harmonising and complementing transport and communications policies; improving and expanding the existing transport and communication links; and establishing new ones as a means of furthering the physical cohesion of the Partner States.

Investment Promotion and Private Sector Development

Providing an enabling environment for the private sector to take full advantage of the Community through the promotion of a continuous dialogue with the private sector to help create an improved business environment and enhancing investor confidence in the region.

Peace and Security

 

Fostering and maintaining a conducive atmosphere that is a pre-requisite to social and economic development through co-operation and consultations on issues pertaining to peace and security of the Partner States.

Tourism and Wildlife Management

Collectively promoting and marketing the Community as a Single Tourist Destination while conserving and ensuring sustainable utilisation of wildlife and other tourist sites.

Trade

 

Rationalising investments and the full use of established industries to promote efficiency in production, as well as harmonising trade policies, investment incentives and product standards, with a view to promote the Community as a single investment area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

25th Anniversary Welcome Note

Posted in EACat25

I am glad to be with you here as we commemorate the EAC’s Silver Jubilee (25^th Anniversary). During this season, as we commemorate the 25^th Anniversary, we hope to take the message of integration to all stakeholders and East Africans at the grassroots who are the true owners of the integration process.

The climax of the celebrations will be on EAC Day on 30^th November, 2024 when the Summit of Heads of State are expected to hold their 24^th Ordinary Summit.

Preceding the Summit meeting will be a High-Level Side Event on 29^th November, 2024 focusing on the journey the Community has travelled over the past 25 years and role of digital transformation in the integration process.

The celebrations will continue until 30^th June, 2025 with a number of activities outlined at both the national and regional levels.

The theme of the Silver Jubilee celebrations is: EAC@25: Promoting Trade, Sustainable Development, and Peace and Security for Improved Livelihoods.

We will be celebrating two and a half decades of steady growth and expansion of the Community that has expanded from three (3) Partner States at its current formation to eight (8) Partner States.

During that period, we have seen the EAC Common Market stretch from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean and increased opportunities for the private sector, the engine of economic growth in the bloc.

The political leadership of the EAC Partner States with the Summit of Heads of State at the apex are well aware of the benefits that accrue from an expanded market and baking a bigger cake at the regional level.

The Customs Union has over this period been transformed into a Single Customs Territory with the Common External Tariff being raised to 35% as part of efforts to promote the growth of local industries and in the same breath increase the region’s share of international trade.

On the East African Monetary Union (EAMU), we are edging closer to the establishment of a single currency that will ease intra-regional trade and transactions across East Africa.

The East African Monetary Institute is already in place with three (3) more institutions as envisaged in the EAMU Protocol also at advanced stages of establishment. This will ensure that we have the single currency in place by the year 2031.

Under the Political Federation, the bloc has also made steady progress with the Committee of Experts tasked with drafting the Constitution for the EAC Political Federation having so far concluded consultations with stakeholders in the Republics of Burundi, Uganda and Kenya. We look forward to expediting these consultations with the remaining Partner States by 30^th June, 2025 as desired by the Summit.

Trade is the driving force behind the integration process and will work better when the bloc attains a common political arrangement.

The Summit has consistently highlighted the need for the Community to raise the visibility of its policies, programmes and projects, and also educate East Africans on the benefits of the integration.

We will therefore dedicate these Silver Jubilee celebrations to sensitising East Africans on what has so far been achieved on the integration journey and how these successes have positively impacted on their lives.

I appeal to all East Africans to join us as we celebrate 25 years of the existence of the Community. EAC remains the fastest integration bloc on the African continent and the most natural bloc with the people determined to come together irrespective of borders established by our former colonial powers.

Building a United East Africa: The Journey Toward the EAC Political Federation

Posted in EACat25

The East African Community (EAC) Political Federation, the fourth pillar and ultimate stage of the EAC integration agenda, has seen both progress and challenges over the past 25 years. This initiative aims to integrate the EAC Partner States into a single federated political entity to enhance regional stability, facilitate cooperation, and create a unified voice on the global stage. 

Historical Background

The idea of political federation in East Africa dates back to the first EAC, formed in 1967 between Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Building on shared colonial history and close economic and social ties, the original EAC had an ambitious goal to establish a federation. However, ideological differences, national interests, and political tensions led to the collapse of the EAC in 1977.
 
In 1999, the signing of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community marked a rebirth of regional integration, with Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania as initial members. By 2000, these three countries had reinstituted the EAC, and the concept of political federation was included as one of the core objectives, alongside a customs union, common market, and monetary union.

Steps Toward Political Federation

The federation was conceived as the last step in the EAC integration roadmap, to be built upon the successful implementation of preceding stages – the Customs Union, Common Market and Monetary Union.

Expanding membership of the EAC has further shaped this agenda, with Rwanda and Burundi joining in 2007, South Sudan in 2016, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2022 and the Federal Republic of Somalia in 2024. With greater diversity, coordination toward a political federation has required strategic adjustments.

It is worth noting that attainment of the Political Federation is a process and not an event. Though the process has been slow, the EAC Heads of State resolved at a Special Summit held in Nairobi in August 2004 to examine ways and means of deepening and accelerating the process through a fast-track Mechanism. The Summit set up a Committee to Fast-Track the EAC Political Federation, dubbed the Wako Committee, to carry out wide consultations and finalise the work on the Political Federation. The Committee presented its report to the Summit on 29 November 2004.

The Wako Committee concluded that a Political Federation was both feasible and desirable, recommending an expedited process to address challenges of instability, fragmented markets, and weak bargaining power on the global stage. The Committee advised that the EAC skip some stages or fast-track certain phases of integration to ensure that the political federation was achieved in a shorter timeframe.

Since 2004, the EAC has been putting in place initiatives to fast-track political integration. Summit directives were given and national consultations with stakeholders between 2006 and 2008 as well as various studies were undertaken to examine, facilitate and fast-track the process. In the consultations, it became clear that the East African citizens want to be adequately engaged and to have a say in the decisions and policies pursued by the East African Community.

Political Confederation as a transitional model

In May 2017, the EAC Heads of State adopted the Political Confederation as a transitional model of the East African Political Federation.

The EAC Heads of State established a team of experts from the Partner States tasked with drafting a Constitution for the proposed EAC Political Confederation, marking a significant step towards realizing the vision of a politically unified East Africa. Comprising constitutional experts from each EAC Partner State, this team works under the guidance of the EAC Secretariat and reports to the Heads of State Summit, ensuring that the process aligns with the diverse legal, political, and cultural contexts of the region.

The drafting committee’s objective is to develop a foundational document that balances shared sovereignty with national autonomy, laying out clear structures for governance, policy, and dispute resolution within the confederation model. The experts are responsible for creating a draft that can be adapted to the evolving integration needs of EAC member states, especially focusing on high-priority areas like defense, foreign policy, and regional trade, while respecting each country's domestic governance structures.

To ensure the constitution reflects the views and aspirations of East Africans, the EAC has initiated extensive national consultations across the Partner States. These consultations have been designed to foster inclusivity, allowing citizens, civil society, government officials, and other stakeholders to contribute their perspectives on the structure and function of the Confederation.

Through public hearings, workshops, and discussions led by Constitution drafting committee, citizens in each Partner State are engaged in dialogue on issues like sovereignty, governance, and shared regional values. Feedback from these consultations is continuously incorporated into the draft, ensuring that the final document reflects the collective voice of East Africans. This participatory approach has strengthened public support and trust in the integration process, setting a strong foundation for a political confederation that is both representative and resilient.
 
Political cooperation frameworks, such as the EAC Consultative Dialogue Framework, have helped align Partner States on key political goals. The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) continue to lay the institutional groundwork for political federation by promoting harmonized laws and addressing cross-border legal matters.

The journey toward the EAC Political Federation has been gradual but steady, evolving from the experiences of the defunct EAC and adapting to the needs of a dynamic and expanding Community. A fully realized Political Federation will require continued political resolve, harmonized policies, and the sustained support of all EAC citizens.
 

Read More on Sectors under the Political Federation Pillar:

International Relations

 

Establishing common foreign and security policies to safeguard the common values, fundamental interests and independence of the Community through strengthening the security of the Community and its Partner States .

Peace and Security

Fostering and maintaining a conducive atmosphere that is a pre-requisite to social and economic development through co-operation and consultations on issues pertaining to peace and security of the Partner States.

Achievements of the EAC under the Monetary Union Pillar

Posted in EACat25

The Monetary Union is the third pillar of the EAC integration agenda. The primary objective of the EAC Monetary Union is to create a single regional currency that will facilitate easier trade and economic integration among Partner States. By establishing a common currency, the EAC aims to reduce transaction costs, eliminate exchange rate fluctuations, and improve price stability across the region. This move is expected to enhance economic resilience, boost investor confidence, and foster cross-border trade and investments by creating a more predictable economic environment.

Building on the EAC Common Market, the Monetary Union seeks to promote the free movement of goods, services, and people, further advancing regional cohesion and fostering sustainable economic growth across East Africa.

To date, the EAC has made remarkable progress under the Monetary Union pillar since the signing of the EAC Monetary Union Protocol in 2013. This Protocol aims to establish a single currency for the region and enhance economic integration among Partner States. The following are key achievements over the past 25 years:

i.  Signing of the EAC Monetary Union Protocol (2013):

The signing of the EAC Monetary Union Protocol in 2023 Laid the groundwork for the establishment of a monetary union, outlining the framework for the implementation of a single currency in the EAC.

The EAC Heads of State display the Protocol for the Establishment of the East African Monetary Union on 30th November, 2013.

ii.  Formation of the EAC Monetary Affairs Committee (2013):

The EAC Monetary Affairs Committee was established to oversee the implementation of the Monetary Union Protocol and ensure coordination of monetary policies among Partner States. One of its key achievements includes the successful coordination of monetary policies across the region, which has fostered macroeconomic stability and aligned financial regulations among Partner States.

The Committee has been instrumental in the preparation and implementation of the roadmap for the EAC single currency, conducting regular assessments to ensure that Partner States meet the necessary convergence criteria. Through capacity-building initiatives and stakeholder engagements, the Committee has strengthened the technical competencies of Partner States in monetary policy formulation, thereby laying a solid foundation for the eventual establishment of a fully integrated monetary union in the region.

iii.  Establishment of Institutions to support the East African Monetary Union

The Council of Ministers approved the organisational structure for the East African Monetary Institute (EAMI) and initiated the administrative process for identifying the host Partner State for the EAMI.

The EAMI is a crucial institution within the EAC to facilitate the integration of monetary policies among Partner States as the region moves towards a Monetary Union. The EAMI is expected to played a pivotal role in coordinating efforts to create a stable macroeconomic environment conducive to regional economic integration. The Institute will be responsible for conducting research and providing technical support on monetary issues, overseeing the implementation of the EAC Monetary Union Protocol, and preparing the groundwork for the eventual establishment of a single currency.

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has passed critical bills for the establishment of the EAC Bureau of Statistics, the East African Surveillance, Compliance and Enforcement Commission, and the East African Financial Services Commission, marking a significant step towards strengthening regional governance and economic oversight all in support on the Monetary Union. These institutions aim to provide comprehensive frameworks for statistical data management, compliance with financial and economic policies, and regulation of financial services across the region. The bills are currently awaiting assent by the EAC Heads of State.

iv.  Implementation of Payment and Settlement Systems in the region

The implementation of payment and settlement systems in the region has enhanced the efficiency of cross-border transactions within the region. By streamlining payment processes, the regional payment systems allow for quicker and more efficient transactions between Partner States, fostering increased trade and economic collaboration. The Partner States’ Central Banks continue to implement secure, efficient, and reliable payment and settlement systems to ensure efficient flow of transactions within the region. The EAC Payment and Settlement Systems Integration Project (EAC-PSSIP) provides connectivity to all Partner States’ Central Banks by linking their real-time gross settlement systems (RTGS) to the East African Payment System (EAPS).

This integration has supported the growth of e-commerce by providing a dependable payment mechanism for online transactions, which encourages digital trade and entrepreneurship. Accompanied by capacity-building initiatives aimed at equipping financial institutions and stakeholders with essential skills.

v.  Implementation of the Roadmap for the East African Monetary Union:

The EAC has continued to make progress in implementing the Roadmap for the East African Monetary Union (EAMU) as it advances toward the goal of achieving a single currency by 2031. This roadmap outlines essential milestones, including the establishment of key institutions such as the East African Monetary Institute (EAMI). The EAC has also prioritized the harmonization of fiscal policies, inflation control measures, and financial sector regulations to ensure macroeconomic stability and coherence among its Partner States. 

These achievements underscore the EAC's commitment to fostering economic integration and stability within the region, paving the way for a successful monetary union that will benefit all member states.
 

Read More on Sectors under the Monetary Union:

Financial Sector

 

Co-operation in monetary and fiscal matters in order to establish monetary stability within the Community, aimed at facilitating economic integration efforts and the attainment of sustainable economic development of the Community.