East Africa: Four EA Partners Get Protection

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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

2 September 2008
Posted to the web 3 September 2008

Dorothy Nakaweesi
Kampala

After a spirited appeal, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, considered poorer than Kenya, will have some protection from trade imbalances, as the region prepares for a free movement of goods, services and labour come 2010.

The purpose of the decision is to ensure that all member states get equitable treatment in trade matters and encourage the development of domestic industrial capacities expected to form a greater economic force against none members in future.

This follows the EAC secretariat's decision last week to agree to include in the protocol clauses that will protect private businesses in those countries once the Common Market gets underway in 2010.

The EAC reached the decision at a negotiation meet in Nairobi in preparation for the region's entry into a Common Market, the second stage of the integration process after the Customs Union.

It also follows alleged threats by Uganda and Tanzania's private sector players to withdraw from the negotiations unless a compensatory fund is established to protect them was considered.

"Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi are classified as least developing countries unlike Kenya, which has more industries. What we want is protection of the poorer economies," Private Sector Foundation of Uganda representative at the meeting Mr John Ssempebwa told Business Power after the meeting last week.

The need for balanced trade among partners prior to the Common Market is a precondition to cushion against businesses closures, job loses and labour flight that led to the collapse of the EAC in 1977.

Meanwhile, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has said that time has come to turn around the EAC project and render it more effective and rapidly achieving.

The Rwandan leader, who is also the chairman of the Summit of Heads of State of the East African Community, made the remarks during his meeting with EAC secretary general Juma Mwapachu when the latter called on him in Kigali, according to a statement issued by the EAC secretariat in Arusha yesterday.

During the meeting at the Office of the President in the Rwandan capital, President Kagame unveiled vision of the 5-nation EAC regional bloc of 120 million population and a combined GDP of $50 billion. President Kagame, who became chairperson of EA summit in June this year, pledged to ensure the speeding up of the integration process in the region in order to realise the desired benefits.

He added that his contribution would be to render the EAC into a more efficient and effective regional organization that was focused on its mission to realize greater liberty, unity and prosperity.

Regional projects that would receive priority attention during his tenure, were the ongoing regional infrastructure development master plans in roads, railways, inland waterways, ports and harbours as well as the Lake Victoria investments and development master plan.

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