Presidents Museveni, Kagame, Kikwete, Kibaki and Nkurunziza sign the East African Common Market Protocol in Arusha yesterday.
By Constantine Sebastian, Arusha
East African Community (EAC) leaders yesterday formally agreed to allow free trade, movement of people and right of residence in the region, with the signing of the protocol establishing a common market.
Promising immediate ratification of the protocol, the Presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi vowed not to look back in the implementation of regional integration.
After the signing of the protocol, which followed protracted negotiations between the member states, the five leaders said the process had reached a point of no return, making East Africa the leader in regional integration in Africa.
President Yoweri Museveni underlined the new found integration spirit by inviting the other EAC members to partner with Uganda in drilling the oil that was discovered in the country recently.
While noting that the human element was paramount over natural resources in development, he said the striking of oil in Uganda heralded a prosperous future for the whole of East Africa.
"I invite all the EAC members to participate in this (oil) project, which is a sign of the existence of oil deposits in the region, especially in the western parts of the Rift Valley,"President Museveni noted putting his signature to the protocol.
The outgoing chairman of the EAC Heads of State Summit, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, said the successful negotiations and conclusion of the protocol were a major achievement during his stewardship.
The signing, he added, had ushered in a new era of further promotion of the common interests and aspirations of the EAC citizens.
He said in a speech, just after passing on the regional leadership mantle to President Jakaya Kikwete, that the protocol should be ratified quickly for immediate implementation of the common market. The new market of over 120 million people, with a combined gross domestic product of about $60 billion, is due to come into effect by July next year.
"The borders separating us are superficial. By signing this protocol, we have built the foundation for unity, good governance and deeper integration. We should, therefore, accelerate the pace since our vision is within reach," Mr Kagame noted.
President Kikwete said that after approving the common market as an integral part of the EAC Treaty, the region had a made a big leap forward in its integration efforts. He said it would make the community stronger than ever before, hence the need to address all the issues required for it to succeed.
Also to append their signatures to the protocol were Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his Burundi counterpart, Mr Pierre Nkurunziza.
However, the signing ceremony a few minutes before 3pm, could not be witnessed by crowds of jubilant ordinary wananchi, as earlier planned because of a downpour that forced the leaders to perform it at the Arusha International Conference Centre instead of out in the open at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium.
The breakthrough, which comes as the EAC is marking its 10th anniversary since its revival, is expected to lead to greater economic cohesion and clout for the region. The protocol was negotiated in a record 18 months, which some experts felt did not provide enough time to sort out many issues that are required to make it effective.
Mr Henry Zakumumpa, a development analyst based at Makerere University in Kampala, told The Citizen in an interview: "We should not be quick to announce breakthroughs for public relations' sake, if we can still negotiate and reach a more sustainable consensus among the member countries.
Hard questions and decisions remain and we should not gloss over them as we pop the champagne. The road ahead is still a long one."
He said those privy to the negotiations had confirmed that they were difficult and protracted. That alone, he noted, was a challenge to the East Africans, especially the leaders, to deal with the deep mistrust and suspicion among partner states, which still lingers on even after signing of the protocol.
For their part, business leaders said poor roads and railway network would also hobble the common market's efficiency and effectiveness across the region and inadequate supply of quality electricity.
Corporate East Africa is also frustrated by the amount of bureaucracy in the region and failure by the governments to protect local industries from undue external competition.
A board member of the East African Business Council, Mr Harpreet Duggal, said: "I don't see much changing with the signing of the protocol, when the region is still served by poor infrastructure.
The Tanzanian industry is now capable of facing the integration challenges, but we can't compete effectively when the roads are bad and power supply is poor."
The director of corporate affairs at Vodacom Tanzania, Ms Mwamvita Makamba, said growing together as an economic bloc was okay, but the region should not "run very fast" on some issues.
She said at the corporate level the signing of the protocol was a positive development, but doubted whether the common people, especially those living in the remotest parts of East Africa, would equally benefit from the arrangement.
First established in 1967, the EAC collapsed 10 years later, but was resurrected in November 1999, to create a European Union-style common market, with Rwanda and Burundi joining the bloc in 2007. In 2005, the economic grouping established a Customs Union, setting common tariffs for external goods.
It is currently working on the establishment of a monetary union by 2012, and ultimately a political federation.
