South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli were scheduled to sign the treaty on 15 April, the latter having been mandated by the recent regional heads of state summit to sign on behalf of the EAC. Throughout the protracted negotiations that led to the admission of Sudan Sudan into the Community followed by the formal accession, there was no unanimity of opinion regarding the new member. There were essentially two diametrically opposed schools of thought. The first group – and this is perhaps the larger group – felt that South Sudan was not ready to join the regional bloc and should not be allowed to do so. Matters were not helped by the outbreak of civil war in December 2013 and the numerous lost opportunities at crafting a lasting peace in the country. Many people felt that with the current instability in that country, allowing it to join the Community would be of no benefit. There is little trade that can take place in war-time, and indeed many traders from the region fled South Sudan when civil war broke out. Efforts to rebuild infrastructure stalled, and firms that had rushed to take advantage of opportunities in the world’s youngest state hurriedly closed down. Why, then, did some people feel that the country’s application to join the EAC should be approved despite the fighting and instability? There are those who felt that the region could have a stabilizing influence on South Sudan, bringing it on board and...

At what stage of EAC integration are we? Partner states are looking for experts to draft the constitution that will guide on what kind of a federation the region will take. We expect at least three people from all the partner states to be in charge of drafting the constitution. The deadline for having a Political Federation had been set for 2016, so what are the new timelines? We cannot have timelines without a constitution. The regional constitution will be the guide towards the federation. It will clearly define what should be achieved at what time, when the region should have the federation, when it will be launched and over what period it will be implemented. For now there are no timelines until the constitution is in place. In November we expect the Heads of State to approve the list of experts who will be in charge of writing the EAC constitution thereafter the process of a political federation will commence. READ: EAC leaders meet to decide on constitution of political federation There is the issue of disparate constitutions, with some members having done away with the presidential term limits. How will this be handled? The constitutional team will determine that. They will guide the partner states but the final decision lies in the hands of the EAC Heads. What the experts will propose will be adopted or sent back for amendments by the presidents. So far, what have the partner states agreed on? In the last few consultative meetings,...

South Sudan on Friday last week, became the sixth member of the East African Community as the world’s youngest nation embarked on implementing comprehensive reforms in order to catch up with the other member states. President Salva Kiir said conflict resolution and upholding peace in his country was his biggest commitment after inking an ascension Treaty in Dar es Salaam with President John Magufuli, who is the Community’s chair. President Kiir named some of the reforms that his country would be making in the near future as the establishment of national revenue collection authority, forming a special ministry in his government charged with EAC affairs, review and passing number of laws and policies in order to harmonise them with other community member states. He also said his country also needs capacity building and institutional support, and he was hoping that the community will extend its helping hand. “We are equally aware of the major progress that the EAC has made in the recent times. The community is today respected as the most integrated bloc on the continent and one among the best globally. We accept this challenge of competitive open market through hard work and commitment. Tied with necessary reforms, South Sudan will raise to the occasion,” he said. On the execution of peace deal in his country President Kiir said: “We believe with peace and stability in our country progress will be made and our objectives will be achieved.” In August last year, President Kiir and his arch-rival who...

Rwandan officials said that contractors are yet to complete works on substations and high-voltage power lines that would facilitate the power trading plan, which is part of the Northern Corridor Infrastructure Projects. The three countries had proposed to start trading in power by 2015, a deadline that was pushed to April this year. But chief executive of Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd Erias Kiyemba told The EastAfrican that the partner states will not meet the new deadline due to challenges such as delays by the contractor. “We are behind schedule…. The transmission lines are not yet complete because of delays with the contractor, both on the Ugandan and Rwandan side,” said Mr Kiyemba. “Even if we had finished ours, the Rwanda side is also facing challenges…they haven’t finished theirs, and power can’t jump!” While Kigali has completed a high voltage — 220kv — interconnection electric grid transmission line to tap power from western Uganda, the Birembo/Shango sub-stations are behind schedule. “The Kagitumba-Mirama-Shango line was completed in October last year,” a statement from Rwanda’s Ministry of East African Affairs notes. A source from the Ministry said that they plan to complete the sub-stations by October. “We experienced some delays in our Birembo /Shango sub-stations, but we are now at 80 per cent complete,” he said. Kigali has asked Isolux Ingenieria, a Spain-based engineering firm contracted to build the power lines and sub-stations to expedite the project. The EastAfrican could not independently establish why Isolux had failed to beat the deadline. However,...

The signing by South Sudan of the Treaty of Accession into the East African Community ushers in a new era for East Africa, one full of new opportunities but still fraught with challenges. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli were scheduled to sign the treaty on 15 April, the latter having been mandated by the recent regional heads of state summit to sign on behalf of the EAC. Throughout the protracted negotiations that led to the admission of Sudan Sudan into the Community followed by the formal accession, there was no unanimity of opinion regarding the new member. There were essentially two diametrically opposed schools of thought. The first group – and this is perhaps the larger group – felt that South Sudan was not ready to join the regional bloc and should not be allowed to do so. Matters were not helped by the outbreak of civil war in December 2013 and the numerous lost opportunities at crafting a lasting peace in the country. Many people felt that with the current instability in that country, allowing it to join the Community would be of no benefit. There is little trade that can take place in war-time, and indeed many traders from the region fled South Sudan when civil war broke out. Efforts to rebuild infrastructure stalled, and firms that had rushed to take advantage of opportunities in the world’s youngest state hurriedly closed down. Why, then, did some people feel that the country’s application...

DAR ES SALAAM, April 16, 2016 - Tanzania President John Magufuli (R), who is also current chairman of the East African Community (EAC), and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir exchange documents shortly after signing an agreement for South Sudan to officially join the regional bloc, at the State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzannia, on April 15, 2016. South Sudan on Friday officially joined the East African Community (EAC), becoming the sixth member of the regional bloc after Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Source: Prokerala

Speaking after a sensitisation seminar for Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Standing Order Committees on the integration process, the chairman of Tanzanian MPs in the EA Legislative Assembly (EALA), Mr Makongoro Nyerere, said that this comes after presidents of member states signed an agreement. “Following the signing, the community decided to upgrade the status of the EAC passport by making it international. Already the design has been picked where it will be uniform but each country will have its own name,” he said. Mr Nyerere explained that this is the first part of the phasing out of national passports and that the production of the newly designed passports has begun with specific quotas going to individual countries. Earlier, Mr Nyerere had given a talk on the integration process of the EAC, saying that the process had not gone as planned because politicians have not shown the required zeal, but there was a need to revive the push and massively educate the masses on the opportunities and challenges. He said that the agreed areas of cooperation among member states include trade, infrastructure, investment, industry promotion, increased quality, financial services, human resources, science and technology, agriculture and food security, environment and natural resources, tourism and wildlife, health, social welfare and development, gender equity, politics, security and the judiciary. “The community has made great strides in some of these areas of cooperation like the one stop border posts where a Tanzanian coming in from Kenya only goes through the immigration on that...

With the demise of the Doha Development Round at the World Trade Organization Ministerial in Nairobi this past December, the multilateral approach to global trade negotiations has largely ended. Given that the number of regional trade agreements has increased from 70 in 1990 to more than 270 today, it appears that it is every region for itself when it comes to global trade. Tripartite Free Trade Agreement and Continental Free Trade Agreement In certain respects, Africa is well positioned in this new era regional trade relations. The Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA), signed in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt in June 2015, brings the Common Market of Eastern and South Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa development Community (SADC) into thecontinent’s largest free-trade zone covering 26 countries and stretching from Cape Town to Cairo. Already, it is estimated that the volume of intra-regional trade among these three blocks has increased from $2.3 billion in 1994 to $36 billion in 2014, a more than 12 fold increase from 7 percent to 25 percent of trade over 20 years. While low compared to the EU (70 percent) or Asia (50 percent), it is a positive trend line. The TFTA is an important boost for regional integration in Africa and is seen as a stepping stone for Africa to realize its ambition of creating a Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). Implementation is behind schedule, however, and efforts are being made to complete the negotiations within the 36 months set out in...

South Sudan will Friday officially become the sixth member of the East African Community (EAC) when it signs documents acceding to the treaties of the regional bloc. SHARE THIS STORY inShare President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and his Tanzania counterpart, John Magufuli, who doubles up as the EAC chairman, are scheduled to sign the accession treaty in Dar es Salaam, weeks after Heads of State from the bloc approved the admission of the country that is just climbing out of a phase of civil unrest. “The Summit then designated the chairperson, President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli of the United Republic of Tanzania, to sign the Treaty of Accession with the Republic of South Sudan,” the EAC secretariat said ahead of tomorrow’s ceremony. The signing will set in motion South Sudan’s assimilation into the bloc that is currently at a common market stage. In line with the treaty, the country will be required to immediately open up its borders for exchange of goods as well as labour and capital. South Sudan would also be required to adhere to principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice besides adopting social and economic policies being compatible with those of the EAC. Boon to Kenyan banks The formal entry of South Sudan into the EAC is a boon to Kenyan firms as banks, insurers, manufacturers and airlines will easily move critical staff to run their operations in areas where locals lack expertise. READ: Business lose...

Kampala — The Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE) has called for waiving of work permits fees within the East African Community (EAC) because they impede free movement of labour and services within the region. Speaking at their annual general meeting in Mukono last week, Mr Nicholas Okwir, the FUE board chairman, said continued issuance of work permits shows that laws regarding movement of workers and services within the EAC have not been harmonised. "We have been focusing on the activities over the last 12 months. We held a meeting of the East African Federations of Employers and it was observed that much as the region is looking at achieving the common market protocol, focusing on work permits is critical on the movement of labour and skills," he said, adding that whereas some members such as Kenya and Uganda have waived the fees, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi have not. According to Rosemary Ssenabulya, the chairperson East African Federation of Employers, much as trade had been given prominence in the integration process, the ministers in charge of labour do not regularly meet to discuss such issues. Source: The Monitor