Dar es Salaam — South Sudan has now been admitted into the East African Community (EAC), increasing the membership of the common market to six, with a population of 162 million people.

The 17th Ordinary EAC Heads of State Summit in Arusha resolved to admit Africa’s newest nation into the economic bloc on Wednesday.

“South Sudan is a new member of the EAC,” said the EAC secretariat on its social media site on Wednesday.

A statement from the EAC headquarters in Arusha before the announcement showed that the issue was high on the agenda of the meeting. It said the leaders would decide “on the negotiations on the admission of South Sudan into the community,” among other issues.

South Sudan now joins Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, and it will be part of the regional integration projects that have been the subject of discussion among member countries, some for years now.

South Sudan applied for EAC membership soon after gaining its independence from neighbouring Sudan in 2011, upon being invited by the presidents of Kenya and Rwanda.

There has been mixed reactions from various quarters, on whether or not it is the right time for South Sudan to join the EAC.

Some critics have suggested that it would have been better for the cuntry to resolve its political issues at home first. Others say the tensions should not bar or distract South Sudan’s desire to be part of one of Africa’s biggest regional bloc.

Another group of analysts believe by being a member of the EAC, South Sudan has more chances of easily resolving current and any future crises.

Fragile as the situation still is, some analysts argue that the EAC partner states have technically “adopted” South Sudan, and will now be obliged to help her in times of need.

University of Dar es Salam lecturer, Dr George Kahangwa, says South Sudan’s joining the EAC at this particular moment in its history is a good idea. “The EAC has goals. South Sudan is likely to benefit from them,” he said.

Dr Kahangwa explains why he believes the timing is perfect: “The EAC is pushing its agenda to become a political federation, things will move on smoothly. All issues will be solved by a united front, and there is hope we will have lasting solution.”

Political scientist, Prof Mwesiga agrees. He suggests that there could be no better time for South Sudan to join the regional bloc. “If South Sudan remains alone, isolated and ignored by neighbouring countries, it will fail to solve its own problems,” he says.

There are critics though, who believe the EAC was supposed to not have been too soft on South Sudan by accepting it into the bloc when there is no guarantee the fragile peace in the oil-rich nation will last long enough.

Will it be another Burundi? Granted, it may be easier to admit a new member into the bloc than sanctioning one that has crossed the line.

To stay in the bloc, there are conditions that will have to be met. Will South Sudan succeed?

Article Three of EAC Treaty authorises the Council of Ministers to negotiate admission deals with states with compatible social and economic policies.

The article, however, pegs approval of membership on the applicant’s adherence to “universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights and social justice.

These are the conditions the country will have to uphold if it will have to remain part of the bloc. But what are the chances of South Sudan surviving in the EAC?

The warring factions of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) have signed an agreement on the re-unification of their movement, in a major step towards resolving the current political crisis that plunged the country into a tragic and unprecedented civil war.

Credit goes to the ruling CCM for organising and supervising the talks in Arusha, which first took place between 12-20 October, last year and were chaired by former CCM (Mainland) vice chairman John Samwel Malecela, and facilitated by CCM secretary genera Abdulrahman Kinana.

The Presidents of Uganda and Kenya and other dignitaries joined President Jakaya Kikwete in witnessing the signing in Arusha on Wednesday.

It was encouraging to see both President Salva Kiir and former Vice President, Dr Riek Machar, agreeing to sign for peace. A leader of the SPLM Former Detainees also signed on behalf of his faction.

Yet despite the pomp and fanfare at the signing ceremony last year, the region will be kept anxious for a while as it appears tension, though is has eased, is still evidently there.

Since South Sudan overwhelmingly voted to break away from Sudan in 2011, the government’s main concern has been to get oil flowing following disagreements with Khartoum .

There have been a few small armed rebellions, border clashes and deadly cattle feuds – but these have all taken place far from the capital, Juba. Signs of friction within the governing SPLM party came in July when President SalvaKiir, an ethnic Dinka – the country’s largest group, sacked his deputy Riek Machar, who is from the second largest community, the Nuer.

It started as a political squabble that later escalated into ethnic violence. President Kiir believes there was and has pointed the finger of blame at Mr Machar, who denies the accusations, but has publicly criticised MrKiir for failing to tackle corruption and said in July 2013 that he would challenge him for the SPLM’s leadership. Mr Machar also has a chequered history with the SPLM, leading a breakaway faction in the 1990s. The country is also awash with guns after the decades of conflict and there is a history of ethnic tension, which politicians could whip up if they believe that could help them gain, or remain in, power.

These are just some of the challenges the EAC may have to deal with in South Sudan.

The country is also expected to meet its end of the bargain by sticking to the same principles that made it acceptable to the bloc. Back in 1965, during the course of the then ongoing roundtable discussions the South Sudan issue, it took longer to agree on who would represent the ‘south’, than it took to make the actual agreement. Quite obviously, the southern part of Sudan has always been a divided lot, and seems pretty much incapable of standing on its feet.

Prof Damian Gabagambi, of Sokoine University of Agriculture, says South Sudan’s joining the EAC is good for the region too. “There are various development projects members of the EAC can pursue while working to salvage the situation,” he says.

Source: allAfrica

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