move freely 24hrs / 7days

buses line up for entry at rwanda’s Gatuna border post

A MINEAC QUARTERLY MAGAZINE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 JULY 2012

not to be sold

Move Freely 24hrs / 7days

THE MINISTRY OF EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

Lead the widening and deepening of the EAC Integration process in order to promote development goals of Rwanda and the region.

Mission

VisionA prosperous competitive, secure and politically united East Africa.

MINEAC: P.O.Box 267 Kigali-Rwanda, MINAFFET Buidling 4th Floor, [email protected], www.mineac.gov.rw

Twitter: @mineacrwanda 3



Mission

VisionA prosperous competitive, secure and politically united East Africa.

MINEAC: P.O.Box 267 Kigali-Rwanda, MINAFFET Buidling 4th Floor, [email protected], www.mineac.gov.rw

Contents 6 reaping from the integration

9 Minister engages grassroots in support for eaC protocols

14 How and why eaC integration benefits ordinary Citizens

18 reduction of tariff rates on sensitive products

21 prices in rwanda: Has Joining the eaC Customs union had an impact on inflation?

24 reGional inteGration: awareness and perception survey

28 simplified trade regime to boost eaC business Community

30 single Customs territory: a fully fledged customs unions

32 transporters impressed by reduced ntbs in eaC

36 eaC education systems and training Curricula to be harmonized

38 eaC countries to access eu market duty free after the conclusion of epas negotiations

40 the eaC-CoMesa-sadC tripartite negotiations resumed

42 a single Currency for east africa: is it feasible, and, if so, by when?

44 s. sudan appliCation to Join eaC: as the eaC Heads of states endorse the verification of southern sudan application to join ea Community, what implication will it have?

48 the east african Community – Hope for the future

prosperity for rwanda Campaign10

31 former prime Minister of rwanda elected to the third eala

34 defence to uphold peace and stability

MineaC launCH of eaC poliCy in

12 pictures

EDITORIAL TEAMAmb. George William KayongaFlavia Sala� naBatoni FlorenceAnne Brooks

CONTRIBUTORSAlexandra- Murray Zmijewski Nathan GashayijaFlorence BatoniKayitesi GertrudeSafari Innocent

Layout and Design: Lukwago Baker, GLCMC

4

Who shall sing or play the Anthem

1. East Africans citizens shall sing or play the Anthem on occasions of regional signifi cance.

2. The instrumental version of the Anthem may be played or the Vocal version may be sung.

3. Every person playing or singing the Anthem shall ensure that the tune and lyrics of the Anthem are complete and performed with dignity.

4. Decorum shall be observed whenever the Anthem is played or sung and every person present at the occasion shall stand up as a sign of respect.

Occasions when the Anthem should be played or sang The Anthem shall be played or sung on the following occasions:

a. All EAC Summit meetings;

b. All EAC Council meetings;

c. Commemoration of EAC days;

d. When a Head of State addresses EALA;

e. Opening of EALA Sessions

f. Opening of the EACJ Law Year;

g. All regional events such as Conferences, Sports and Cultural Events, Exhibitions.

h. All national occasions in Partner States as each Partner State may determine.

Application of the Anthem1. At all EAC Summit meetings and EAC Commemoration days, the 3 stanzas

of the Anthem shall be played or sung;

2. At any occasion of the Community where a Head of State is present 2 stanzas of the Anthem shall be played or sung;

3. At any other occasion 1 stanza of the Anthem shall be played or sung.

GUIDELINES ON EAC ANTHEM USE

1. Ee Mungu twaomba ulindeJumuiya Afrika MasharikiTuwezeshe kuishi kwa amaniTutimize na malengo yetu.

ChorusJumuiya Yetu sote tuilindeTuwajibike tuimarikeUmoja wetu ni nguzo yetuIdumu Jumuiya yetu.

2. Uzalendo pia mshikamanoViwe msingi wa Umoja wetuNatulinde Uhuru na AmaniMila zetu na desturi zetu.

3. Viwandani na hata mashambaniTufanye kazi sote kwa makiniTujitoe kwa hali na maliTuijenge Jumuiya bora.

east afriCan antHeM

5

foreword

Welcome to our second Quarterly Magazine. In this issue we bring you key highlights of this quarter of which include the launch of the National policy on EAC integration, the education and information campaign under the theme Prosperity for Rwanda, and district sensitization on EAC benefi ts and mainstreaming integration into government plans. The prosperity campaign was developed in line with fi ndings of the perception survey that shows that Rwandans lack deep understanding of EAC programs as well as the work of MINEAC.

At the Ministry of East African Community, we believe that Rwandans can fully understand and tap EAC benefi ts and opportunities as well as gain from registered achievements, is through sensitization. It is through this belief that is grounded in our mission of widening and deepening EAC integration that the campaign was implemented.

All activities especially media activities are shared in this publication. Also, in line with raising awareness on EAC integration in Rwanda, MINEAC entered into a tripartite working relationship with civil society, private sector and Rwanda Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA) to harmonize their communication activities on raising awareness on integration to avoid duplication of communication initiatives. This tripartite will build a strong synergy and collective partnership among these stakeholders in making integration well known to Rwandan society.

In this issue, we also attempt to respond to some of the key concerns and questions such as cause of rising prices and cost of living despite Rwanda being a member of EAC, the progress of education harmonization, single customs territory, the real achievements of EAC integration to Rwandans and success stories of Rwandans in different ventures of business and education, analytical opinions on some key issues such as the applicability of Monetary union by 2012 as envisaged among others.

Following the launch of the policy on EAC Integration, mainstreaming integration is a priority because Mainstreaming EAC integration into government plans will improve coordination of EAC activities

and implementation of Rwanda’s commitments which will increase benefi ts from EAC membership. It is from this Connection that MINEAC in the spirit of mainstreaming conducted one week sensitization of 13 districts neighboring EAC partner states spearheaded by Hon. Minister Monique Mukaruliza to raise awareness and prepare district mayors and their staff on integrating EAC into district development plans.

The district sensitization exercise started with 13 districts but will to continue to all 30 districts. We welcome the ideas and opinions of our stakeholders on our magazines because we highly value your feedback. We also encourage you to

contribute your ideas through articles, but your opinions will not refl ect the views of the Ministry of East African Community or government of Rwanda.

Please enjoy this magazine that aims to bring to you the latest developments of EAC in Rwanda and the region. Our aspiration as a Ministry is an engaged population from private sector and civil society as well as the government institutions in mainstreaming EAC integration into their programs to increase the economic base of the country.

Hon. Monique MukarulizaMinister, Ministry for East African Community

it is through this belief that is grounded in our mission of widening and deepening eaC integration that the campaign was implemented. all activities especially media activities are shared in this publication. also, in line with raising awareness on eaC integration in rwanda, MineaC entered into a tripartite working relationship with civil society, private sector and rwanda association of local Government authorities (ralGa) to harmonize their communication activities on raising awareness on integration to avoid duplication of communication initiatives.

6

INTEGRATIONFROM THEREAPING the east african Community; prosperity for rwanda

66 A Publication of the Ministry of East African Community6 7

Economic internationalization through the formation of regional groupings is one of the most popular and best-tested models of economic development. Most regional groupings are driven by the trade development agenda.

Individual East African economies are small, but with regional integration, there has been opening up of new business opportunities, markets, access to fi nance and technology. These aspects are crucial for maximum utilization of natural and human resources for sustainable economic growth and reduction of poverty.

Rwanda considers regional Economic integration as one of the crucial elements of achieving Vision 2020 as stated by the sixth pillar of the Vision 2020. For this reason, Rwanda has adopted a strategy of pursuing an open, liberal trade regime, minimizing or reducing barriers to trade and implementing policies to encourage foreign direct investments. The Ministry of East African Community serves as an operational link between the Government of Rwanda, other national stakeholders, and the EAC organs and institutions with the main objective of coordinating EAC activities at national level. The Ministry of East African Community is to coordinate the development and follow up of implementation of regional policies and programs for the benefi t of the people

By Moses Kirui

“our vision 2020 is to become a middle income economy. initially our target was 900 usd per Capita by 2020 but we have changed the target to 1,240 usd. we also have pillars from our vision which include regional and international cooperation and this explains why we are members of the east african Community” noted Monique Mukaruliza

The ministry emphasizes on the fact that the integration aimed at widening and deepening economic, social, and cultural integration in order to improve the quality of life of the people of East Africa including Rwandans through increased competitiveness, value added, production, trade and investments. The corresponding primary goals are to promote mutually benefi cial cooperation among partner states in political, economic, social and cultural fi elds, research and technology, defense and legal justice affairs. Since its establishment, the East African Community has seen a simplifi ed cross border trade, simplifi ed permit acquisition procedures and all other doing business reforms.

With the implementation of the EAC integration initiatives the ordinary citizens of the member states have all reasons to rejoice and a story to tell. Rwanda as a country joined the East African Community fully aware of the attendant benefi ts most of which hinge on economic harvests and trade enhancement.

It is in line with the ministry’s mission and campaign that the New Times held an exclusive interview with the Minister of East African community. According to the Minister, Rwanda is not in EAC by accident, it joined the integration after a close scrutiny of its benefi ts and importance. The minster stated that integration is a process that may take quite a number of years to be fully realized. However she noted that there are a number of benefi ts that Rwanda is already reaping from the integration. For instance the non-tarrif barriers posed a great challenge to Rwanda due to the lack of a port. The integration has however encouraged a common market resulting into reduced non-tariff barriers. The availability of one stop border posts has also eased the doing business procedures and stimulated effi ciency. The border is now open 24 four hours reducing the time traders and importers could take in clearing goods from neighboring countries. “Before joining the EAC community, the charges (customs tariffs) were too high due to the fees paid at every border post; but with the integration, calculations are done at the fi rst entry in the East African territory due to applied common and reduced external tariffs” she added.

Rwandans are now able to access a big market in other member states and can benefi t too through the investment in Rwanda from other countries. The presence of companies like Airtel and Equity Bank which are not originally from

of Rwanda. It is with this respect that the Ministry of East African community with the mandate of coordinating the integration in Rwanda echoes and launches various campaigns in line with its mission of deepening and strengthening the process of integration in Rwanda.

The ministry conducts this awareness campaign in a move to tell Rwandans the benefi ts of integration and effect the launching of the national policy on integration in Rwanda. The campaign kicks off on 18th May, 2012 being part of bigger awareness program by the Ministry of East African Community to educate the Rwandan citizens on integration matters and especially its benefi ts.

77A Publication of the Ministry of East African Community 7

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“i cross border posts every single day and what i can appreciate most is the extension of working hours and the efficiency at the rwandan borders due to the electronic single window system. we used to wait at the border for even a week but we currently spend less time due to the new eaC policies”

“the harmonization of the list of goods by the member states with disregard of the certificate of origin has greatly improved on our efficiency and service delivery”

Gahuto emmanuel, Head of tariff & rules of origin unit - Magerwa

Gisele niyonzima, Kacyiru resident

“the removal of trade barriers across the border has eased the importation procedures of goods to rwanda. i personally enjoy the availability of variety of goods in our country imported from the neighbouring member states”

Maneno wilson, 32-year-old

truck driver

Rwanda comes with a wide range of benefi ts ranging from job opportunities to economic development. In essence the EAC integration has seen Rwanda enjoy and appreciate various aspects that come with protocol, agreements and efforts by member states. The social interactions between citizens of the member states have encouraged healthy relationships and sharing of ideas thus boosting creativity and innovation. The harmonizing of educational systems will too boost this interaction and further the sharing of important concepts and ideas.

However the minister noted that even though the integration comes with great benefi ts it will only augur well with individuals who have a vision and work towards it. “A better future in EAC is for people who have a realistic vision and work tirelessly towards achieving it” she asserted.

Integration too has allowed for free movement of people within the member states. Individuals are allowed to stay for a period of six months in a foreign country within the member states without necessarily having a visa. “Due to the harmonization

of immigration law within the East African protocol, individuals in member states can now move freely and we even allow them to stay in a country for six months without a visa” says Sebutege Ange, the Communications and Customer care offi cer at the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration.

“The permits’ fee has also been waived away with new residents only required to register. The working hours at the Gatuna and Chanika border posts have been increased to 24 and 15 hours respectively” added Sebutege.

wHat otHers say:

paul ssali, lecturer & Kabeza resident

“these days i’m no longer worried of the time i cross the border because it is always open and when relatives and friends from Kenya or uganda visit me here in Kigali i’m not worried of their longer stay due to the extended time from three to six months without a Visa”

Muhiza Jerome, Kimironko resident

“i was a student at a Kenyan university a year ago and i enjoyed the interactions we had with other students especially from Kenya, uganda & tanzania. we shared ideas and studied together. i truly appreciate being in eaC”


MINISTER ENGAGES GRASSROOTS IN SUPPORT FOR EAC PROTOCOLS

Minister Mukaruliza (R), Bugesera Mayor, Louis Rwagaju (2nd R) and district offi cials talk to residents.

like the Customs Union are implemented right from the lower administrative units. “The tour will also enable us to know how much the local people have benefi ted from the integration and the existing limitations that need intervention,” said Mukaruliza.

The Customs Union protocol which was signed by all fi ve EAC member states in 2010, stresses easy cross-border trade, among other issues, where citizens of member countries can do business across borders without any limitations.

On her visit to Bugesera District, yesterday, the minister met several users of Ruhuha Market, at the Rwanda-Burundi border. The market attracts over 650 Rwandan traders, and 5,000 buyers from both countries.

The traders expressed optimism on the Customs Union, noting that they have realised increase in customers while a big number of Burundians currently do their shopping from the market. Edward Shuhe one of the traders said; “About 30 percent of our customers come from Burundi; they buy foodstuffs like cassava fl our, corn, cooking oil, construction materials and clothes- all which are cheaper here than in Burundi.”

Matayo Nyandwi, another trader, added that Burundians come to the market freely and shop in bulk, which maximises their sales. “In fact, the market has become so vibrant now that we plan to broaden and open up stores in Burundi.” Burundians also bring some commodities to the market, particularly domestic animals like goats and chicken. They transport the merchandise by boat across Ruhuha Lake which separates the two borders.

During the minister’s tour of the lake shores, Burundians who were ready to transport their goods across hailed the reforms introduced after the integration, and Rwanda’s proactive efforts to facilitate cross-border trade.

They, however, called on both governments to introduce temporary papers that can enable traders to shop as far as Kigali, without necessarily travelling to Bujumbura for a passport; an issue which the Minister said will be effective after introduction of the EAC common identity cards.

By E. Munyaneza

The Minister for EAC affairs, Monique Mukaruliza, has embarked on a one-week tour to the country’s border districts to monitor the progress of

implementation of the EAC protocols.

According to the minister, the tour is aimed at assessing how EAC agreements

9

MINISTER ENGAGES GRASSROOTS IN SUPPORT FOR EAC PROTOCOLS

Minister Mukaruliza (R), Bugesera Mayor, Louis Rwagaju (2nd R) and district offi cials talk to residents.

like the Customs Union are implemented right from the lower administrative units. “The tour will also enable us to know how much the local people have benefi ted from the integration and the existing limitations that need intervention,” said Mukaruliza.

The Customs Union protocol which was signed by all fi ve EAC member states in 2010, stresses easy cross-border trade, among other issues, where citizens of member countries can do business across borders without any limitations.

On her visit to Bugesera District, yesterday, the minister met several users of Ruhuha Market, at the Rwanda-Burundi border. The market attracts over 650 Rwandan traders, and 5,000 buyers from both countries.

The traders expressed optimism on the Customs Union, noting that they have realised increase in customers while a big number of Burundians currently do their shopping from the market. Edward Shuhe one of the traders said; “About 30 percent of our customers come from Burundi; they buy foodstuffs like cassava fl our, corn, cooking oil, construction materials and clothes- all which are cheaper here than in Burundi.”

Matayo Nyandwi, another trader, added that Burundians come to the market freely and shop in bulk, which maximises their sales. “In fact, the market has become so vibrant now that we plan to broaden and open up stores in Burundi.” Burundians also bring some commodities to the market, particularly domestic animals like goats and chicken. They transport the merchandise by boat across Ruhuha Lake which separates the two borders.

During the minister’s tour of the lake shores, Burundians who were ready to transport their goods across hailed the reforms introduced after the integration, and Rwanda’s proactive efforts to facilitate cross-border trade.

They, however, called on both governments to introduce temporary papers that can enable traders to shop as far as Kigali, without necessarily travelling to Bujumbura for a passport; an issue which the Minister said will be effective after introduction of the EAC common identity cards.

By E. Munyaneza

The Minister for EAC affairs, Monique Mukaruliza, has embarked on a one-week tour to the country’s border districts to monitor the progress of

implementation of the EAC protocols.

According to the minister, the tour is aimed at assessing how EAC agreements

10

PROSPERITY FOR RWANDA CAMPAIGNThe Ministry of East African Community launched a sensitization campaign on May 2012 under the theme Prosperity for Rwanda and this campaign will run for two months from May to June 2012.

What is Prosperity for Rwanda Campaign about?

Prosperity for Rwanda is a sensitization campaign planned by MINEAC to inform and educate the public about the opportunities and benefi ts of EAC integration to Rwandans. It is set to answer the question of what is there for me in EAC integration?. This campaign was developed in line with one of the strategic objectives of MINEAC of strengthening and deepening the understanding of EAC integration in government, the private sector, civil society and the public.

This is not the fi rst campaign the Ministry has conducted since its inception, but a continuation of a series of campaigns that have been conducted to inform and educate the public about EAC integration. MINEAC sensitized universities, local cell leaders, parliamentarians, media, police, students and teachers. It is therefore important to note that this campaign is part of the ongoing wider framework of national sensitization campaign to promote an informed citizenry on EAC integration.

Activities conducted during this campaign

Launch of the National Policy on EAC Integration

One of the activities of this campaign was to launch the national policy on EAC Integration which was launched on May 18, 2012 at Serena Hotel. The National policy on EAC integration is one of the commendable achievements for the Ministry of East African Community since its inception. The National Policy on EAC Integration was developed to make the management of the EAC integration process more effi cient and effective and to ensure that regional integration contributes to our goal of becoming a middle-income

By Florence Batoni

country by 2020.The policy also is set to facilitate the essential mainstreaming of regional integration into national planning and priority setting in order to fully reap the benefi ts of regional integration in the years ahead.

Launch of Integration Affairs the � rst MINEAC Magazine

MINEAC launched its fi rst Quarterly magazine during the launch of the National Policy on EAC. The magazine comes to update key stakeholders on MINEAC activities and key issues in EAC Integration at regional level.

Responded to some of the FAQsMINEAC used the campaign to respond

to some of the most frequently asked questions on EAC Integration and this page responds to some.

What is EAC Integration about?

The East African Community is the regional inter-governmental organization of the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The Heads of State of the three initial Partner States of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, signed the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community in 1999 and Rwanda and Burundi joined in 2007.

What are the aims of EAC Integration?

The East African Community aims at widening and deepening co-operation among the Partner States, among others, political, economic and social fi elds for their mutual

Amb. George William Kayonga, Permanent Secretary of MINEAC presenting the overview of the National Policy on EAC Integration


benefi t. Integration provides opportunities for addressing common challenges - improving economic cooperation, increasing market size and competitiveness, attracting foreign direct investment and pooling resources for investments of mutual benefi t. By combining fragmented domestic markets, regional cooperation can contribute to economic growth and development by promoting intra-regional trade and economies of scale.

What will Rwanda achieve in EAC integration?

Regional integration can play an important role in driving growth and development in Rwanda by improving the business environment and enhancing competitiveness.

Regional integration has the potential to address Policy uncertainty and fragmented narrow markets which are the main factors in deterring Foreign Direct Investment.

In other words, integration encourages foreign direct investment, adopting policies to promote competitive enterprises, exports and entrepreneurship. It has been noted that in the last 20 years between 40 and 60 percent of world trade occurs within regional trading blocs.

Regional capital market integration also has a potential role to play in addressing fi nance constraints. Creating regional capital and securities, markets will provide a deeper market for the sale of government securities and may enable governments to fi nance debt at lower rates.

The elements of the EAC regional integration agenda including the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union, Political Federation and cooperation on a broad range of policy issues including infrastructure development can all have a direct impact on Rwanda’s development. Indirect benefi ts in terms of reducing the crowding of private investment and increasing competition for private sector clients will probably have an even greater impact.

While there may be some short-term costs to integration such as increased competition for domestic fi rms, the long-term benefi ts outweigh far the costs. Given the size of its market, and its land locked nature, in fact it can be said that it is imperative for Rwanda to join integration for economic benefi ts from trade with its neighbors.

What challenges are currently affecting EAC integration pace?

In terms of customs union implementation, there are challenges in implementation of rules of origin because some member countries do not sometimes respect the criterion under which a certifi cate of origin is issued which affects importer’s businesses. These challenges have been caused by bad business practices where people deal in goods that originate from outside the community, but are granted certifi cates of origin as if they are locally produced which outcompete the local goods and thus frustrating the local businesses.

Another challenge that impacts on the pace of integration is slow implementation some of the key decisions and recommendations reached by Heads of state and council of ministers.

What is the difference between Customs Union and Common Market Protocols?

A common market is a stage of integration where EAC partner states merge their factors of production (labor, Land and capital) into one single market for these factors. A common market involves free movement of goods, labour, services and capital as well as right of establishment and residence.

What are features of the Common Market Protocol?• A smoothly functioning customs union

with total elimination of all internal tariff and non-tariff barriers and a common external tariff.

• Free movement of people, labor services and capital and right of establishment and residence in any of EAC partner states

• Enhanced economic policy harmonization and coordination with regard to fi scal regimesand monetary policy.

• Setting up institutions that empower and support common market implementation such as EAC court of Justice and Legislative Assembly.

• Customs Union and Common Market are two different stages of Integration, Customs union concerns trade facilitation between partner states and removal of trade barriers. The Common market is a deeper

integration that integrates factors of integration specifi cally labor, land and capital.

What has Rwanda achieved since it joined EAC?

Economic• 24hrs/7days operation of Gatuna

border post allows movement of people and goods to move in and out any day, any time between partner states.

• One Stop border posts have reduced customs bureaucracies at Gatuna and Rusumo which saves time spent by business people at the borders.

• Rwandans can establish businesses in any of the EAC partner states and reside there with their dependents.

• Non-tariff barriers to trade have been reduced in EAC partner states.

• Simplifi ed Trade Regime was introduced to faciliate small traders with issues of certifi cates of origin when they clear goods worth $2000 at the border post.

• Elimination of internal tariffs for good locally produced has reduced prices of goods

Social• Rwandans can easily access to health

and education services within partner states.

• Rwandans have the right to study in EAC states as citizens of those countries following the entry into force of the EAC Common Market protocol.

• Citizens of partner states enter any of the Partner states with no visa requirements and can legally stay for six months;

• The application of Common External Tariff has reduced customs duties and made easy customs and clearing procedures and documentation

• Rwandans can compete for employment opportunities in private sectors of any of EAC partner states as citizens of those countries.

• Free movement of people and business interactions among East Africans has increased social cohesion

PoliticalDefense cooperation has created trust

and confi dence among armed forces and security personnel of EAC partner states which reduced cross-border crimes.


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MINEAC LAUNCH OF EAC POLICY IN PICTURES

Offi cial Launch of the National Policy on EAC Integration

Governor, Eastern Province Mrs. Uwamariya Odette (left) with MINICOM Hon. Minister Francois Kanimba

MINICOM Minister Hon. Francois Kanimba (left) with MINEAC Minister Monique Mukaruliza (right)

Left to Right: Gov. Southern Province Munyentwari Alphonse and A. Pedro, Director (UNECA)

Minister of MINEAC, Hon. Monique Mukaruliza launching the National Policy on EAC Integration


MineaC awards participants with certificates for undertaking eaC intergration trainning

Minister of MINEAC, Hon. Monique Mukaruliza unveiling the National Policy on EAC Integration

MINEAC Permanent Secretary Amb. George William Kayonga

TMEA Country Director, Mr. Mark Priestly


14

HOW AND WHY EAINTEGRATION BENORDINARY CITIZE

By Florence Batoni and Godfrey Ntagungira

The East African Community is the regional inter-governmental organization of the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The Heads of State of

the three initial Partner States of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, signed the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community in 1999 and Rwanda and Burundi joined in 2007.

These fi ve East African Partner States have a population of around 133 million who share much in their language, culture

and infrastructure. This provides the Partner States with a unique framework for regional co-operation and integration; as well as opportunities for addressing common challenges - improving economic cooperation, increasing market size and competitiveness, attracting foreign direct investment and pooling resources for investments of mutual benefi t. By

15

to some extent benefi ts from the bloc and the benefi ts will continue to increase when the Common Market is fully implemented. If the common market becomes fully operational, Rwandans will fully enjoy free movement of persons, goods, services which will also enhance the increasing investment opportunities in the fi ve partner states as envisaged in the EAC common market protocol. Hon. Mukaruliza observes.

When Rwanda applied to join the East African Community (EAC) in 1996, some people thought that Rwanda’s emerging private sector would not match big fi rms in the region. However, Minister Mukaruliza says that the country has socially and economically benefi ted from the community.

Rwandans can compete for employment opportunities in private sectors of any of EAC partner states as citizens of those countries. The Minister also noted that in terms of defense cooperation, the Community has created trust and confi dence among security forces of EAC partner states which has reduced cross-border crimes.

Today non-tariff barriers have been reduced with collective efforts of member states and also another important issue Rwandans can now establish businesses in any of the partner states as one of the elements for the Common Market Protocol allows them to reside in those countries with their dependants” she said.

Following the signing of the Customs Union that is now in force, partner states are putting efforts on liberalization of intra-regional trade in goods to promote mutually benefi cial trade arrangements among the Partner States; promoting effi ciency in production within the Community; enhancing domestic, cross border and foreign investment in the community; promoting economic development and, the diversifi cation in industrialization in the community.

The Common Market protocol which came into effect on July 1, 2010 allows for the free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital. Besides the freedoms, citizens from partner states have the right to reside, and establish businesses in any of the member countries. As a result, the 133 million strong EAC market has seen intra- regional trade on the upward trend.

Hon. Mukaruliza further says that with such tangible benefi ts accrued within a short time, Rwandans should work towards embracing and supporting the regional integration.

A Common market allows full freedom of movement for all the factors of production between the member countries, the factors of production become more effi ciently allocated, thus increasing productivity. For both business within the market and consumers, a single market is a very competitive environment, making the existence of monopolies more diffi cult.

“Consumers have benefi ted from the single market in the sense that the competitive environment brings in affordable products, more effi cient providers of products and also increased choice of products,” Hon Mukaruliza says.

The Minister also said that a combined EAC market of 133 million people reduces transaction costs, eases the distribution of commodities and creates wealth by spurring competition and forcing the private sector to constantly be more innovative and effective.

As part of implementing Common market protocol, EAC member states scrapped the visa fees and the duration spent by East Africans in any of EAC member country was increased from three months to six months.

The Minister’s assertions have been corroborated by several traders in Kigali, who said a lot has changed in regard to

combining fragmented domestic markets, regional cooperation can stimulate economic growth and development by promoting intra-regional trade and economies of scale.

The steady, widening and deepening cooperation among the East African Community partner states in a berth of cross-cutting sectors has opened doors for Rwandans of all walks of life to benefi t from the 133 million people in the expanded market.

Hon. Monique Mukaruliza, Rwanda’s Minister for East African Community held an exclusive interview with The Chronicles, in line with the Ministry’s 2 months sensitization campaign under the theme Prosperity for Rwanda that was launched on May 10, 2012 and is expected to end in June this year. The campaign Prosperity for Rwanda is a continuation of various sensitization campaigns that the Ministry has conducted since its inception to create awareness about EAC opportunities in line with MINEAC’s mission of widening and deepening EAC integration process to promote development goals of Rwanda and the region.

In this interview, The Minister said that ordinary citizens have experienced

the campaign prosperity for rwanda is a continuation of various sensitization campaigns that the Ministry has conducted since its inception to create awareness about eaC opportunities in line with MineaC’s mission of widening and deepening eaC integration process to promote development goals of rwanda and the region.

CEFITSNS

16

cross-border trade and better treatment of traders across member states borders.

Jane Umulisa, a middle-aged woman who deals in men’s clothes observed that the fastidiousness with which documents are currently processed at the borders is impressive.

According to Umulisa, the systems at the Gatuna border post have been computerized, making the processing of documents faster. She also said that the immigration services for the EAC residents at regional airports have improved tremendously. “The offi cers who works there are friendlier than ever before,” Ms Umulisa says.

Indeed, coupled with the waiver of the work permit fees for EAC citizens, ongoing harmonization of border procedures has facilitated the movement of labour, services and people across the region. The EAC partner states have agreed that border posts should operate for 24 hours and in line with this the business is booming.

William Kalisa, a forex bureau trader at Remera-Kisementi, commends the government’s move to join the EAC, saying that due to free movement of people within the region, his business has also doubled.”I used to receive an average of just seven to nine customers per day, exchanging about Rfw150, 000, but today, due to many people travelling in the region, I normally get over 30 customers and exchange over Rwf300, 000 a day,” Kalisa said.

Kalisa said that previously, there was a scarcity of Kenyan and Tanzanian currency, but today, as a result of the free movement of people and capital, he can easily access both currencies in abundance. Claudine Kaitesi, a whole sale trader at Kimironko market dealing in garments and bags, and who has been in business for the last fi ve years, narrates that since Rwanda joined the EAC, her business had fl ourished.”I had a few customers and since I had just started, business was not booming. The business atmosphere however drastically changed in 2008 when I started receiving customers from other countries especially, those from Uganda and Kenya,” she explains.

She further observes that although she used to only import her commodities from Uganda, she is now able to import from the rest of the EAC region, particularly from Kenya where she says goods are cheaper.

Kaitesi, who claims her business has grown by 60 percent since pleads to all the EAC member states to remove the remaining obstacles to trade to enable traders in the region to do more business. She says she currently exports her merchandise to Burundi, which she labels ‘a virgin market’.

To ensure Rwandans understand and exploit the opportunities and benefi ts of the integration, The Ministry of East African Community continues to create awareness campaign to deepen the understanding of Rwandans so that they can fully exploit these opportunities. The ministry believes that Rwandans cannot benefi t from EAC opportunities unless they are fully sensitized.

As part of this campaign MINEAC launched the National Policy and strategy on EAC integration following its approval by Cabinet on Feb 28, 2012. The launch took place on May 18, 2012 at Serena Hotel. The National Policy on EAC Integration was developed to make the management of the EAC integration process more effi cient and effective and to ensure that regional integration contributes to our goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2020.The policy also was set to facilitate the essential mainstreaming of regional integration into national planning and priority setting in order to fully reap the benefi ts of regional integration in the years ahead.

Also, in this campaign, MINEAC launched its fi rst Quarterly magazine, conducted mass media programs in terms of press ads, radio, TV infomercials, documentary, responded to FAQs, used social media , town meetings, community outreach among others. MINEAC also plans to introduce open days to respond to public questions and concerns on EAC integration.

Hon. Mukaruriza observes that it is important for Rwandans to understand that EAC integration is a process and a journey. Therefore, while the agenda is broad and deep, implementation is progressive. She however, calls upon Rwandan businesses and citizens to take advantage of the existing opportunities offered by the EAC integration agenda, in terms of larger markets for Rwandan products as well as the potential for profi table partnerships and linkages with partners in the other countries in the community.

EAC Integration implementation pace has some challenges some of which include lack of implementation of some of the decisions and directives made by Heads of states and council of Ministers. Minister said that if all decisions made by heads of state and council of ministers were implemented in time, all EAC partners states should have started enjoying full implementation of freedoms of the Common Market.

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18

REDUCTION OF TARIFF RATES ON SENSITIVE PRODUCTSRwanda’s Success in negotiating in the Common External Tari�

By Alexandra Murray-Zmijewski

What is the Common External Tariff?

As a member of the East African Community (EAC), Rwanda implemented the Common External Tariff (CET) in July 2009. This sets tariff rates for imports sourced from outside the Community at 25% for fi nished goods, 10% for intermediate goods, and 0% for raw materials and capital goods. This also removed all EAC internal tariffs so that Rwandan’s no longer pay import tax on goods from member states.

The aim of this CET was to facilitate

ease of trade within the region and begin forming a common EAC trade policy. Rwanda has already gained from cheaper imports, resulting in more affordable consumer goods and lower cost inputs for producers. As fi gure one shows there has been a sharper rise in imports from EAC since 2009.

The chart also shows that Rwandan exports to the region are growing .At the moment there is a growing trade defi cit with the EAC but in the longer run if import prices continue to fall and Rwandan business take up the opportunities to exports to EAC there could be reduced pressure on this trade defi cit.

Why do we have a list of Sensitive Items within the CET?

When the CET was implemented in 2007 by the original member states (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) certain products were seen to be of key interest to their economies. These products were seen as having potential to grow to be competitive on the international markets given some short term protection. Therefore a list of Sensitive Items (SI) was created for products that required special treatment, i.e. they are allocated a tariff rate outside of the above three band structure. The higher rate allows producers to compete against non-EAC producers as the external tariff raises the

19

price of imported non-EAC products. The EAC producer is then expected to invest profi ts from sales into productive capacities to become more effi cient. In the longer term the tariff will be reduced and the EAC producer should be able to compete at lower price and standards with the international products.

Table 1 lists the 12 key product types under the sensitive items. The offi cial tariff rates in the SI list are high; ranging from 35 to 100%. However, currently Rwanda has a Stay of Application (SOA) , or an exemption, on four main items offering some mitigation to rising consumer prices, namely: wheat grain, wheat fl our, rice and sugar.

The EAC Customs Union Protocol provides for a review of the CET including its list of SI every fi ve years. The fi ve year comprehensive review of the CET and its SI list has been underway since 2009. The EAC Secretariat decided to retain the current CET but commission a study on tariff rates for the SI list. Additionally Rwanda undertook its own in-depth research into the impact of these higher tariffs on the Rwandan economy.

Why are these Sensitive Items important to Rwanda and other EAC countries?

The average Rwandan citizen may spend around 10% of their income on products in the list of sensitive items. With tariffs of 35 to 100% this means that prices can be artifi cially raised by one third, to even doubling the price, of these goods due to the special higher SI tariff rates.

The case worsens when considering the consumption of the poor. The fi rst fi ve products on the list; milk, wheat, maize, rice and sugar, constitute a large proportion of the food consumption basket of the poor. Indeed, a study on the CET concluded there was a reduction in the purchasing power of the poor in Rwanda as a result of the SI higher tariff rates (International Growth Centre, Feb 2012). The poverty basket in Rwanda is measures every fi ve years by the Integrated Living Conditions Survey (EICV). The poverty basket weights show that the poor spend more than 70% of their income on food items (see NISR 2006 & 2012). Therefore the list of sensitive items will have a disproportional negative impact on the purchasing power of the poor.

It is important to note that the consumption basket of East Africans is

Figure 1 - Rwanda’s Trade with EAC (Million USD)

Source: BNR Monetary Policy Statement February 2012.

Item Current offi cial SI rate

Actual applied rate in Rwanda (stay of application)

1 Milk and Milk Products 60% 60%

2 Wheat Grain 35% 0%

Wheat Flour 60% 35%

3 Maize 50% 50%

Maize fl our 50% 50%

4 Rice 75% 30%

5 Sugar 100% 0%

6 Cigarettes 35% 35%

7 Matches 35% 35%

8 Woven fabrics (KhangaKikoiKitenge) 50% 50%

9 Bed linen 50% 50%

10 Sacks and bags 45% 45%

11 Crown corks 40% 40%

12 Primary cells and Primary batteries 35% 35%

Table 1- List of Sensitive Items and their Tariff Rates (Offi cial and Applied)

Source: Rwanda’s Position on Tariff Rates for Sensitive Items under the Common External Tariff (MINEAC 2012)

not signifi cantly different from Rwanda’s. And therefore any fi nding on how raised tariff rates have impacted consumer prices will have similar ramifi cations for a Ugandan or Tanzanian as a Rwandan. In other words, Rwanda found that the list of sensitive items was not protecting the poor throughout the EAC.

Rwanda’s Success in Mitigations the Negative Impact of the SI tariff rates

The intra-ministerial committee was set up to produce a position paper for EAC negotiations. In its analysis, the committee used statistics and facts on

20

domestic production, consumption, price, exports and imports of each product to formulate a country position.

This position paper provides an overview of and recommendations for every product on the sensitive list (SI). This position paper serves as a negotiating tool at EAC negotiations.

Rwanda’s delegates to the pre-budget consultations of Ministers of Finance (held on 14th to 18th May 2012) used the evidence-based paper to negotiate an improved external trade policy through more appropriate tariff rates for these key products. This resulted in the following two main outcomes:

• Positive Short Term outcomes for Rwanda– The EAC allowed Rwanda to continue to receive exemptions from the high tariff rates. This means that Rwandan consumers and producers will continue to be protected from the higher tariff rates and so benefi t from lower prices.

• Longer Term strategic win for EAC– The Ministers of Finance accepted Rwanda’s recommendations to prepare a road map to reduce and eventually remove the list of sensitive items. This would mean that from next year there will be plans implemented to move these products into the normal, lower, CET rates. This will permanently reduce the prices of these goods in the region.

Other positive outcomes from this process

Additionally there are indirect impacts of this policy change. In addition to the potential to reduce Rwanda’s EAC-trade defi cit, as shown in fi gure one above, this outcome could reduce infl ation. Reducing core product prices should have a dampening effect on infl ation rates in the region. With high infl ation rates in recent years the EAC should welcome this new strategy.

Finally, within this negotiation process Rwanda has introduced the concept of a Sunset Clause. This is a time limit on the tariff protection for the infant industry to grow to become more competitive.

It reduces the chances of an industry receiving unfair competitive advantage indefi nitely and limits the time consumers pay higher prices.

By Alexandra Murray-Zmijewski

Why have prices risen in such positive national circumstances?

Consumers have experienced rising prices in Rwanda over the last few years. This has been driven by rising food and fuel prices, which has been an international phenomenon. In this period of rising prices Rwanda joining the East African Community (EAC) Customs Union. This eliminated all tariffs between Rwanda and the EAC partner states. It also required Rwanda to implement the EAC’s Common External Tariff (CET) which is applied to all non-EAC imports. With all imports from within the EAC being tariff free it was expected that infl ationary pressures would decline.

Two other factors would further make us expect that infl ation in Rwanda would decline: fi rst the sharp rise in agricultural production should raise supply of food to offset prices rises, and second the increase in Government subsidisation of pump prices, mitigating the oil price rises.

So what has continued to buoy Rwandan prices? Given the international pressures how has the EAC and Rwanda coped? Has joining the EAC Customs Union managed to mitigate any of these external shocks for Rwanda?

What does the global situation tell us?

Figure 1 provides an overview of global infl ation trends. It is clear that in late 20007 and through 2008 there was a

general rise in prices which is consistent with oil price movements. This was felt internationally, where world prices rose from 4% to 6% per annum; more so in emerging and developing countries; and higher still in Sub-Saharan Africa (from 7 to 12%). After a respite in 2009 oil prices have risen again throughout 2010 and 2011 and with it global infl ation rates.

How did this affect the EAC?

It is clear from Figure 2that the infl ationary pressures have been greater in the EAC (and Rwanda) than globally or in SSA. Throughout the EAC similar reasons have been offered for the high infl ation rates. The IMF and all EAC national statistics institutions have stated that international oil and food prices are the core reason for national - and hence regional - price rises . Therefore it is evident that the EAC remains highly vulnerable to external shocks.

However, East Africa has also suffered from drought or ‘insuffi cient rains’ within the time period. As agricultural-led economies food production plays an important role in infl ationary pressures in the region. This and other domestic issues have not helped to mitigate rising global prices.

How did Rwanda fare in comparison to other EAC member states?

Reducing infl ation is a top priority for the Government of Rwanda and is a key driver of domestic monetary policy. Figure 3 and Figure 4clearly show that Rwanda has managed its infl ationary pressures

PRICESHas Joining the EAC Customs Union had an Impact on In� ation?

21

Figure 1 - Global Infl ation and Oil Prices

Figure 2 - Global and EAC Infl ation Rates (Annual Percentage Change)

Source: IMF WEO Apr 2012

Source: IMF WEO Apr 2012 and EAC Facts and Figures 2011

comparatively well as the national rate is lower than the EAC average. This brings us back to the two key drivers of price: food and oil, and how Rwanda has developed domestic policy instruments to deal with these .

Rwanda has managed to raise its agricultural production by signifi cant proportions through the Crop Intensifi cation Programme - with food crop production growth averaging 9% in the past fi ve years . It is now food secure and exporting produce. Indeed when other EAC states suffered droughts Rwanda could supply its neighbouring countries. This increased supply has managed to bring prices down in 2009 whilst other EAC country prices remained sticky. More recently in 2011 whilst other EAC states are suffering rapid rising prices, Rwanda remained in single digits (see Figure 3).

The lower levels of infl ation may also refl ect the Government’s policy on fuel prices. The Government regularly assesses developments in international oil prices and makes adjustments to the taxes payable on pump price. This ensures a stable or limited rise in consumer fuel prices. This is also important to the wider economy due to the ‘pass through’ costs of rising transportation costs on other consumer goods.

Therefore, although the EAC is vulnerable to external shocks Rwanda’s experience highlights that domestic policy can have a strong infl uence on controlling infl ation. Indeed there are signifi cant internal factors that have maintained high prices in Rwanda in recent years such as the cost of electricity which must be addresses in the long term to stabilise prices. Continued investment into post-harvest storage facilities is planned which should also help reduce domestic seasonal fl uctuations in food prices.

IN RWANDA

22

What has the EAC contributed to?The EAC Customs Union has removed

internal import tariffs within the region. Therefore Rwanda pays no import taxes from imports from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania or Burundi. This reduces the cost of imports from those countries.

Figure 5 shows that average tariff rates for imports have declined since Rwanda

joined the EAC Customs Union in 2009 . The rate before joining the CET in 2008 was just less than 13%, after it fell by half, to 6%, in 2010. Indeed throughout the EAC region there has been a reduction in import tariffs in the past fi ve years.

This implies an average reduction in cost of importing goods for consumers and producers in Rwanda, (although it

says nothing of any changes in quality of the products imported).

There are also reduced transactions costs to importing through EAC agreements to reduce non-tariff barriers. Non-tariff barriers are costs to trade like the time it takes to cross the border, number of documents needed, weighbridges, and other regulations on traded goods.

The fi ve member states have agreed to reduce these types of measures to facilitate the smooth transportation of goods throughout the region. This in turn should be reducing the costs to trade and so the price of goods available to the Rwandan consumer.

What else is the EAC expected to bring to help reduce in� ation in the longer term?

In addition to this initial benefi t of reduced import tariffs and process of eliminating non-tariff barriers, there should be more benefi ts from the ever-deepening integration into the EAC.

The main contributors to infl ation in Rwanda are food, housing, electricity, transport and education, as shown in Figure 6.

Over the past two years it is clear that food prices have contributed to the majority of price instability and infl ationary pressures. This is followed by transport, housing and electricity prices.

The government will continue implementing a stabilising monetary policy, which targets single digit infl ation. It will also remain investing in the successful domestic agricultural policies to reduce seasonal price fl uctuations. However, Rwanda could also benefi t through the EAC to reduce these key infl ationary factors.

Three examples where a deeper EAC integration should have a stabilising impact on prices:

• Transport Infrastructure – A signifi cant proportion of the price of imports into Rwanda is due to the cost of transport. This is a function of multiple factors such as fuel prices, condition of roads, time taken due to non-tariff barriers and effi ciency problems at the two main ports servicing the region.

To counteract this, the EAC has regional wide plans to improve transport infrastructure to reduce barrier to trade.

Source: EAC Facts and Figures 2011

Figure 3 - Headline Infl ation Rates in the EAC (Annual Percentage Change)

Source: EAC Facts and Figures 2011

Figure 4 - Rwandan Infl ation compared to EAC Average (Annual Percentage Change),

23

For example: joint member states projects to improve road conditions on the main transport corridors, development of new rail networks, major work at the ports to improve storage facilities and so forth. With these tangible advances it should take less time and money to bring goods to Rwanda.

• Energy Projects and Pooling – The EAC has multiple cross-border energy projects on-going and is also developing

plans for an ‘energy pool’. These will help reduce the cost of electricity and would reduce the need to import fuel for generators and reduce demand for oil. This would have a positive impact on the infl ation rate as consumers switch from using more expensive generator fuel to electricity from the grid.

• Trade Policy – With the Customs Union moving towards a Common Market the EAC countries

Source: World Bank Development Indicators, NOTE: Data not available for Rwanda in 2007 and 2009

Source: NISR

Figure 6 - Key Contributors to CPI in Rwanda

NOTE: ‘Others’ = Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, Clothing and footwear, Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, Health, Communication, Recreation and culture, Restaurants and hotels, and Miscellaneous goods and services.

Figure 5 - Average Tariff Rates for Imports in EAC will need to increasingly work together to align trade policy. A single larger market with harmonised internal tax and external tariff policies should result in a more stable environment and so reduce volatility to shocks. This should bring about an increasingly stable and lower infl ation rate.

How have demand-side factors affected prices?

One fi nal point relates to the rising demand for Rwandan products. Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA); over the last ten years real GDP growth averaged 8%.

During the EDPRS period real per capita incomes rose by 5%, resulting in nominal GDP per capita of almost 600 USD in 2011. The latest household survey (EICV III) shows that over this time period poverty has fallen from 57 to 45% in 2011.

Therefore in addition to the growing demand for imports there is a rapidly rising domestic demand. This has put upward pressure on prices. As agriculture production rises so too is the ability of Rwandans to buy this produce.

This partly explains the lack of downward movement in the face of serious increases in food availability in Rwandan markets.

Vision 2020’s overarching target of achieving middle income status and transforming Rwanda into a knowledge-based economy implies a doubling of the per capita income of USD 600 seen in 2011, to 1,240 USD in 2020, and more than halving the poverty rate to less than 20 per cent. If the Vision 2020 targets are realized GDP would grow at an average of 11.5 per cent per annum.

If this is achieved then there will be a greater pressure on prices from growing effective demand in Rwanda.

The closer ties to the EAC, including the free movement of goods and people in the Common Market, allows pressure to be released more easily. Surpluses can be traded freely and people searching for cheaper goods in times of shortages can buy from neighbouring countries just as easily as their own market.

This, along with prudent monetary policy, should provide a stabilising effect on prices in Rwanda and the region.

23

For example: joint member states projects to improve road conditions on the main transport corridors, development of new rail networks, major work at the ports to improve storage facilities and so forth. With these tangible advances it should take less time and money to bring goods to Rwanda.

• Energy Projects and Pooling – The EAC has multiple cross-border energy projects on-going and is also developing

plans for an ‘energy pool’. These will help reduce the cost of electricity and would reduce the need to import fuel for generators and reduce demand for oil. This would have a positive impact on the infl ation rate as consumers switch from using more expensive generator fuel to electricity from the grid.

• Trade Policy – With the Customs Union moving towards a Common Market the EAC countries

Source: World Bank Development Indicators, NOTE: Data not available for Rwanda in 2007 and 2009

Source: NISR

Figure 6 - Key Contributors to CPI in Rwanda

NOTE: ‘Others’ = Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, Clothing and footwear, Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, Health, Communication, Recreation and culture, Restaurants and hotels, and Miscellaneous goods and services.

Figure 5 - Average Tariff Rates for Imports in EAC will need to increasingly work together to align trade policy. A single larger market with harmonised internal tax and external tariff policies should result in a more stable environment and so reduce volatility to shocks. This should bring about an increasingly stable and lower infl ation rate.

How have demand-side factors affected prices?

One fi nal point relates to the rising demand for Rwandan products. Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA); over the last ten years real GDP growth averaged 8%.

During the EDPRS period real per capita incomes rose by 5%, resulting in nominal GDP per capita of almost 600 USD in 2011. The latest household survey (EICV III) shows that over this time period poverty has fallen from 57 to 45% in 2011.

Therefore in addition to the growing demand for imports there is a rapidly rising domestic demand. This has put upward pressure on prices. As agriculture production rises so too is the ability of Rwandans to buy this produce.

This partly explains the lack of downward movement in the face of serious increases in food availability in Rwandan markets.

Vision 2020’s overarching target of achieving middle income status and transforming Rwanda into a knowledge-based economy implies a doubling of the per capita income of USD 600 seen in 2011, to 1,240 USD in 2020, and more than halving the poverty rate to less than 20 per cent. If the Vision 2020 targets are realized GDP would grow at an average of 11.5 per cent per annum.

If this is achieved then there will be a greater pressure on prices from growing effective demand in Rwanda.

The closer ties to the EAC, including the free movement of goods and people in the Common Market, allows pressure to be released more easily. Surpluses can be traded freely and people searching for cheaper goods in times of shortages can buy from neighbouring countries just as easily as their own market.

This, along with prudent monetary policy, should provide a stabilising effect on prices in Rwanda and the region.

24

73% Rwandans are aware of the EAC integration process but high levels of awareness exist in institutions compared to individuals - Survey

awareness andREGIONAL IN

The Regional Integration survey on awareness & perceptions amongst Rwandans was conducted by TNS RMS East Africa Limited with the support of Trade Mark East Africa in collaboration with the Ministry of East African Community (MINEAC) in March 2012 to identify the current levels of awareness of the East African Community and perceptions among Rwandan stakeholders.

This survey was conducted on a sample size of 852 Rwandans who do not represent the national views. Therefore the fi ndings of this survey represent the views of this sample size not all Rwandans.

The fi ndings of the survey will be used to develop appropriate and impactful messages and better understand mediums for dissemination of the messages. The Ministry of East African Community in

Rwanda, Private Sector Organizations, Civil Society Organizations and TMEA will use fi ndings of this survey as a benchmark to develop communication and senstisation strategies that are based on evidence.

The research was carried out to determine the current levels of awareness of EAC in general as well as the key specifi c initiatives undertaken within

By Eric Kabera

25

perception survey

the EA integration, identify the existing perception of East African integration, and how Rwandans feel about their country integrating with the rest of EA i.e. what are their issues and what do they see as positive?

The results of the survey indicated that about (73%) people country wide say they are aware of the integration process in East Africa. This good percentage of the awareness on EAC integration has been attributed to the tremendous work the Ministry of East African Community has done from 2011 as far as awareness is concerned. According to Mugisha Innocent a business man in

this means that the Ministry of east african Community affairs has been working around the clock to engage more people in the eaC integration processes and has embarked on massive awareness campaigns using all sorts of media.

Musanze district “I think those people from MINEAC have tried to sensitize all Rwandans in all categories for example they sensitized us the business people about the community, Common Market and Customs Union and the benefi ts of all those initiatives and I heard that they also sensitized the local people at the Sector level”, he said.

The 73% awareness rate is far above the rates in Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania according to the survey. Burundi comes 2nd with a general population awareness level of 66%, followed by Tanzania with 65% while Kenya lags behind with 46% and Uganda is still in the process of conducting the study. The survey sampled 852 individuals and 149 institutions from all provinces and the city of Kigali.

There is a higher level of awareness of the integration process among the institutions compared to individuals. An expanded business opportunity through common markets is the key expectation from the institutions. The Civil Society Organisations however, look at the integration from a cohesion perspective as well as resource sharing. The overall implication is that there is need to

drive awareness beyond the general understanding to specifi c initiatives and perhaps more importantly align this to what is relevant to the specifi c audience or target.

However, according to the survey, there are varied interpretations of what the process is all about. Even though this was a spontaneous question without hint to the initiatives, still a key initiative “Freedom to do business in different countries” got the highest mention at 24%, meaning that most people think about the integration process in terms of business opportunities.

Some of the key � ndingsThe awareness levels for the EAC

is high in Rwanda but at a very general understanding level.. Only few people are aware of the specifi c EAC integration process initiatives in Rwanda among the individuals as well as the institutions interviewed in this survey, and there is need therefore to have communication campaigns focusing on educating people about the specifi c initiatives and their benefi ts.

TEGRATION:

26

Coupled with this high general awareness are very positive sentiments about the EAC integration which shows that the integration process is likely to receive support from both the individuals and institutions during implementation.

Majority of respondents were not spontaneously aware of the initiatives but noted that they had been sensitized about the integration by the Ministry of East African Community which signifi es that there is a signifi cant increase in awareness of the initiatives. This means that the Ministry of East African Community Affairs has been working around the clock to engage more people in the EAC integration processes and has embarked on massive awareness campaigns using all sorts of media.

According to the survey, EAC integration process relevance is especially important because people expect a big impact at both personal levels as well as at a business level. This level of excitement should be maintained for purposes of moving people to the next level of engaged participants and not just awareness. There are some concerns about the integration, although these are raised by only a few people.

Key among them is the expected increase in cost of living which comes from both the individuals and institutions. Additionally, there is some fear that at the social level, integration is likely to dilute local culture, cause tribalism, negatively impact on moral fabric and bring about insecurity. The fact that these issues are likely to be evaluated emotionally rather than rationally, is reason enough to pay attention to such concerns even though are coming from a minority

There is only a small proportion not spontaneously aware of the intergovernmental and governmental bodies responsible for the integration, the bulk of them are in the SMEs.

Despite the high awareness of the integration process among the general public, awareness of the fi ner details is still very low with more than half the respondents not knowing who the persons in charge EAC and MINEAC. Awareness of EAC headquarters is equally low.

The respondents in the Institutional sample seems to be more engaged and have better awareness levels of the fi ner details about the EAC compared to the general public. Generally, the respondents are positive with regards to the integration process, with the major drivers for the positivity being the opening up of borders which will promote business and free movement of persons.

Campaigns to raise awareness must have examples of what has been achieved. This will give more weight to the campaigns and trigger more positive reaction to the EAC integration. According to the survey fi ndings, the Institutional sample has very similar sentiments to those expressed by the public, but it is also likely that they view the opportunities from a commercial perspective and are therefore more keen on the business opportunities presented by the free movement of goods and services.

The East African Integration is expected to have a Large Impact both at personal and business levels. The expectations regarding personal impact is quite high perhaps due to the awareness and sensitization efforts by MINEAC, but the benefi ts would need to be tangible in order to maintain this level of excitement. Targeted communication highlighting the benefi ts to each target group would achieve more excitement and engagement by the businesses.

Generally people expect the customs union to make their lives better through paying less for products and service i.e.

duty free products at lower prices.

On the fl ipside, there is fear of reduced economic competitiveness such as other EAC nationalities taking over their business/jobs and stiffer competition for locally produced goods. Other concerns related to social integration include security, morality and domination. This indicates a good understanding of the customs and clear expectations from the customs union.

IMPACT RATINGSOverall there is very high agreement

with the statements that positively project the integration, meaning that sentiments about the integration are positive and initiatives are not likely to face rejection.

There is however a strong feeling about the expected increase in the cost of living with 46% strongly agreeing with the statement. Other concern areas are more emotional and although the number are not very high, they would still need to be addressed keenly i.e. loss of cultural identity and loss of land. Communication needs to address the concern about cost of living as it has potential to trigger negative feelings towards the integration.

Across the different sectors, ease of travel to other EAC countries is considered to be the major benefi t that will be acquired from the EAC integration process. SMEs and corporate bodies are also keen on being able to import and export goods easily as this would have a direct impact on their businesses.

despite the high awareness of the integration process among the general public, awareness of the finer details is still very low with more than half the respondents not knowing who the persons in charge eaC and MineaC. awareness of eaC headquarters is equally low.

27

28

SIMPLIFIED TRADE REGIMETO BOOST EAC BUSINESS COMMUNITYSince the launch of a simplifi ed clearance procedure dubbed “Simplifi ed Trade Regime”, reports and testimonies from the business community indicate that the simplifi ed trade regime has eased import and export of goods.

The STR was implemented between Rwanda and Uganda in March 2010 and between Rwanda and Burundi in July

2011 and small scale cross border trade indicates that they have greatly benefi ted from using this facility.

The launching of STR at Rusumo border on 16th March 2012 was indeed an important achievement because the SIMPLIFIED TRADE REGIME is now implemented at all borders between Rwanda and other EAC partner States bordering Rwanda;

The simplifi ed trade regime is meant to facilitate small cross border traders by availing those simplifi ed certifi cates of origin by the customs offi cers at the border without going to get them in capitals. It therefore allows small traders benefi t from 0% import tariff for the goods of commercial value not exceeding 2000 USD.

STR intends to simplify the whole

By Safari Innocent

29

process of clearing goods for small scale cross border traders by introducing a simplifi ed certifi cate of origin which should be obtained at the border for all goods that appear on the common list. At fi rst, the rules only benefi ted the big traders who were able to go to EAC cities and regional provinces to obtain certifi cates of origin but now, it was made easy for Small traders to obtain freely, the certifi cates of origin at the borders posts.

The simplifi ed trade regime facility is very crucial to small scale cross-border traders and plays an important role in development of EAC partner states. Goods of commercial value not exceeding USD 2000 for each consignment accompanied by an EAC Simplifi ed certifi cate of origin enter a partner state from another duty free.

During the STR launch at Rusumo border with Tanzania the Governor of the Eastern Province, Odette Uwamariya, challenged businesspersons to utilize the facilities at their disposal. “Most of our districts touch border lines...business people shouldn’t take this chance for granted. They should think of starting up businesses, for example, Forex bureaus, banks, etc,” she said. Rusumo is said to be the most active border handling 65 per cent export and 90 per cent imports of Rwanda.

Many small traders use the “travellers’ rebate system” whereby they can carry goods to a value of $300 to $500 depending on the country in duty free regardless of origin. Although this is not meant for commercial traders, many use this system and pay tax for goods in excess of their “allowance”. Under Simplifi ed

Trade Regime, goods originating locally are duty free since the main interest of the trader is to see a reduced cost of trading if carrying locally produced products.

Customs offi cials have observed that the Simplifi ed Trade Regime has no marked effect on revenues.

Why was it necessary to introduce Simpli� ed Trade Regime?

EAC Partner States came up with a simplifi ed customs clearance procedure that would be used by small scale cross border traders to facilitate easy import and export of their goods. The regime was introduced to solve the problems faced by small scale cross border traders such as lack of knowledge and information on the benefi ts of trading with other EAC Partner States, including complex documents and complicated processes of fi lling the current forms, increased clearance costs and delays in the clearing of goods and processing of tax funds.

To solve the above issues and simplify the process of clearing goods, the simplifi ed trade regime introduced a simplifi ed certifi cate of origin which should be signed and stamped by the designated offi cials at the border posts for all goods that appear on the common list, a simplifi ed customs document to be used by traders to declare goods that appear on the common list and duty is not payable on the declared goods.

Who can use simpli� ed Trade Regime?

It is used by small scale cross border traders importing or exporting goods

from one EAC Partner state to another.

When can Simpli� ed Trade Regime be used?

Where a small scale cross border trader is exporting goods valued at US $ 2000 or less per consignment he or she can use the simplifi ed trade regime. The goods should be listed on the EAC simplifi ed trade regime common list and should be for re-sale or use in the business.

How is Simpli� ed Trade Regime Used?

For goods that have been grown or wholly produced in EAC region and appear on the common list, the trader will complete a simplifi ed customs document (declaration form) and simplifi ed EAC certifi cate of origin. These documents are fi lled in at the border post by the trader and are stamped and certifi ed by a customs offi cial.

Goods imported and exported should comply with the normal food safety, plant and animal health regulations including environmental protection. Import and export permits needed to import or export certain agriculture foods and animal products are still required.

What are advantages of using simpli� ed trade regime?

• Fast trade resulting from acquiring certifi cates of origin from near (customs border offi ces);

• Enjoyment of preferential tariff treatment

• Better knowledge by the traders about their rights will reduce cases of smuggling and corruption across borders;

• Better statistical data will be obtained for the goods, values and quantities traded and this will enhance the planning and decision-making;

• Legitimate trade will lead to increase of revenue collection for fi nancing activities of national development;

• Increased trade at borders will encourage people to build strong relationships and establish cultural understanding with their counterparts in neighboring partner States.

30

What is a single customs territory?A Single Customs Territory (SCT)

is an arrangement where two or more customs territories merge to form one customs territory. The essential features include:Common legal framework; common systems and procedures; an institutional framework unifi ed at the territorial level;Free Circulation of goods; agreed mechanism for collection and

SINGLE CUSTOMS TERRITORY

A fully � edged Customs Unions

sharing of customs revenue; harmonized domestic tax regimes applicable on cross-border trade and removal of Rules of Origin on Intra Regional Trade.

The introduction of Single Customs Territory is to reduce internal border controls and is a strong tool of trade facilitation. On 28th April 2012, the EAC Summit decide to adopt in principle destination model of clearance of goods

where assessment and collection of revenue is to be done at the fi rst point of entry and revenues will then be remitted to the destination partner states subject to the fulfi llment of key pre-conditions to be developed by a high level task force. However, in the long run revenue pooling and sharing will be considered as it will bring about a fully fl edged customs union where free circulation of goods will be fully realized.

By Gushayija Nathan and Safari Innocent

31

The extra Ordinary Council of 24th April 2012, approved the establishment of the high level task force and directed Partner States to appoint members of the high level task force by end of July 2012.

The model adopted in principle would allow free circulation of goods in the single market with variations to accommodate goods exported from one partner state to another.

In ensuring the full implementation of the model, a robust information communication technology (ICT) revenue management system be adopted. This will reduce the risk associated with potential loss of revenue arising from dumping of goods in the region.

The Director General of Customs and Trade at the East African Community, Dr Peter Kiguta has on several times noted that the transformation of the EAC into a single customs territory (SCT) is required to spur liberalized trade as goods would circulate freely within the territory.

He further highlighted that EAC still suffers internal controls; goods are not circulating freely because in customs union things should work like in one customs territory. The Single Customs Territory study, affi rm that a single customs territory in the EAC region would provide benefi ts such as fewer internal border controls and removal of rules of origin since it would not be necessary to test locally produced goods for compliance with origin conferring criteria.

A simple snapshot indicates that concerning customs administration, information exchange, and enforcement of EAC customs procedures and CET are in place.

While on trade liberalization mechanisms on elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers are in place even though not yielding the expected results. Other trade related aspects and export promotion schemes implementation are in progress.

In setting up the pre- conditions for the operationalization of the single customs territory based on the adopted destination mode.

The High level Task force should consider the following issues: treatment of domestic taxes on intra EAC Trade, rules of origin on intra- regional trade, revenue assessment and collection mechanism, different customs IT systems and the role of various agencies in customs clearance.

FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF RWANDA ELECTED TO THE THIRD EALA

The process of elections of EALA members in the Republic of Rwanda started on 20th April 2012 and elections held on 15th May 2012 in Parliamentary building.

The former Prime Minister Pierre Celestin Rwigema was elected among the new members of EALA after 10 years of self exile. In his interview with the Focus after the elections, Hon. Rwigema said “I have never disappointed my society, and I will never do so”.. As stipulated by the EAC Treaty, members of Legislative Assembly should represent the political parties in the national Assembly, gender and special groups including youth, women and disabled. Out of 18 contestants, four represent Rwanda Patriotic Front and these include Hon. Christopher Bazivamo, Hon. Abdul Karim Harelimana, Hon. Patricia Hajabakiga, and Pierre Celestin Rwigema.

Hon. Dr Odette Nyiramirimo was re-elected to represent Labour Party and Jacqueline Muhongayire was re elected to represent PSD, Hon. Ndahiro represents the disabled, Hon. Valerie Nyirahabineza represents the Women Council and Hon. Straton represents the youth. For the fi rst time in EALA’s election history, a female Speaker Margaret Nantongo Zziwa from Uganda was elected, for of the third term

East African Legislative Assembly. Ms Zziwa holds a Masters’ degree in Women and Gender from Makerere University in Uganda. The fi rst speaker was Abdulrahaman Kinana from Tanzania and the outgoing speaker is Abdirahin Abdi from Kenya.

Following the elections of EALA members of the third term, a two-day induction workshop was organized on June 8, 2012 to re-orient on the procedures and modalities of work at the Assembly. The two day induction exercise administered by the Institute of Regional Integration and Development (IRID) reiterated the strengthening the Assembly as it carries out its mandate in the integration dispensation. “We need to consolidate and solidify on what we have in place- that is the Customs Union and the Common Market as we move towards the Monetary Union and the Political Federation. This calls on the Assembly to engage across board with various stakeholders in order to effectively legislate”, Hon Zziwa (pictured above) noted.

The tenure of the 2nd Assembly, passed of 36 pieces of legislation and over 30 Resolutions. The third term of the EALA began on June 5, 2012 and will end in 2017.

Hon. Pierre Celestin Rwigema Third EALA Speaker, Rt. Hon. Margaret Zziwa

By Florence Batoni and Gertrude Kayitesi

31

The extra Ordinary Council of 24th April 2012, approved the establishment of the high level task force and directed Partner States to appoint members of the high level task force by end of July 2012.

The model adopted in principle would allow free circulation of goods in the single market with variations to accommodate goods exported from one partner state to another.

In ensuring the full implementation of the model, a robust information communication technology (ICT) revenue management system be adopted. This will reduce the risk associated with potential loss of revenue arising from dumping of goods in the region.

The Director General of Customs and Trade at the East African Community, Dr Peter Kiguta has on several times noted that the transformation of the EAC into a single customs territory (SCT) is required to spur liberalized trade as goods would circulate freely within the territory.

He further highlighted that EAC still suffers internal controls; goods are not circulating freely because in customs union things should work like in one customs territory. The Single Customs Territory study, affi rm that a single customs territory in the EAC region would provide benefi ts such as fewer internal border controls and removal of rules of origin since it would not be necessary to test locally produced goods for compliance with origin conferring criteria.

A simple snapshot indicates that concerning customs administration, information exchange, and enforcement of EAC customs procedures and CET are in place.

While on trade liberalization mechanisms on elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers are in place even though not yielding the expected results. Other trade related aspects and export promotion schemes implementation are in progress.

In setting up the pre- conditions for the operationalization of the single customs territory based on the adopted destination mode.

The High level Task force should consider the following issues: treatment of domestic taxes on intra EAC Trade, rules of origin on intra- regional trade, revenue assessment and collection mechanism, different customs IT systems and the role of various agencies in customs clearance.

FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF RWANDA ELECTED TO THE THIRD EALA

The process of elections of EALA members in the Republic of Rwanda started on 20th April 2012 and elections held on 15th May 2012 in Parliamentary building.

The former Prime Minister Pierre Celestin Rwigema was elected among the new members of EALA after 10 years of self exile. In his interview with the Focus after the elections, Hon. Rwigema said “I have never disappointed my society, and I will never do so”.. As stipulated by the EAC Treaty, members of Legislative Assembly should represent the political parties in the national Assembly, gender and special groups including youth, women and disabled. Out of 18 contestants, four represent Rwanda Patriotic Front and these include Hon. Christopher Bazivamo, Hon. Abdul Karim Harelimana, Hon. Patricia Hajabakiga, and Pierre Celestin Rwigema.

Hon. Dr Odette Nyiramirimo was re-elected to represent Labour Party and Jacqueline Muhongayire was re elected to represent PSD, Hon. Ndahiro represents the disabled, Hon. Valerie Nyirahabineza represents the Women Council and Hon. Straton represents the youth. For the fi rst time in EALA’s election history, a female Speaker Margaret Nantongo Zziwa from Uganda was elected, for of the third term

East African Legislative Assembly. Ms Zziwa holds a Masters’ degree in Women and Gender from Makerere University in Uganda. The fi rst speaker was Abdulrahaman Kinana from Tanzania and the outgoing speaker is Abdirahin Abdi from Kenya.

Following the elections of EALA members of the third term, a two-day induction workshop was organized on June 8, 2012 to re-orient on the procedures and modalities of work at the Assembly. The two day induction exercise administered by the Institute of Regional Integration and Development (IRID) reiterated the strengthening the Assembly as it carries out its mandate in the integration dispensation. “We need to consolidate and solidify on what we have in place- that is the Customs Union and the Common Market as we move towards the Monetary Union and the Political Federation. This calls on the Assembly to engage across board with various stakeholders in order to effectively legislate”, Hon Zziwa (pictured above) noted.

The tenure of the 2nd Assembly, passed of 36 pieces of legislation and over 30 Resolutions. The third term of the EALA began on June 5, 2012 and will end in 2017.

Hon. Pierre Celestin Rwigema Third EALA Speaker, Rt. Hon. Margaret Zziwa

By Florence Batoni and Gertrude Kayitesi

32

TRANSPORTERS IMPRESSED BY REDUCED NTBS IN EAC

The NTBs are defi ned in the EAC customs union protocol as “quantitative restrictions and specifi c limitations that act as obstacles to trade”. Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) refer to restrictions that result from prohibitions, conditions, or specifi c market requirements that make importation or exportation of products diffi cult and/or costly.

The Common Market Protocol came into effect in

July 2010 to facilitate the realization of the four freedoms namely, the free movement of people, goods, services and labour. However, it is still a matter of great concern that Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs)

continue to undermine the free movement of goods in the EAC. NTBs to trade are probably the biggest impediment to full attainment of the objectives of the Treaty for Establishment of East

“before adopting the Customs union, borders closed at 6:00 pm, forcing us to schedule few routes, or spend part of the night at the border waiting for morning. but since opening the borders 24 hours, we have almost tripled up our routes and increased profits from our business.”

By Emma Munyaneza

33

African Community since they perplex both the Customs Union and Common Market. However, progress has most notably been recorded at border posts, which are no longer highlighted as a major barrier by truck drivers. This has been likely been the result of introducing one stop border posts and 24/7 operations which avoid duplication of clearance procedures as well as reducing congestion and overnight waits.

According to voices of some of the citizens of EAC member states who have been involved in cross-border trade or regularly move across the bloc, NTBs have been progressively reduced a thing that has led to an increased trade in the region. Truck drivers, most of who transport goods to Kigali from the ports of Dar-es-Salaam and Nairobi, reveal that the time spent at the border to clear the goods in transit before proceeding to Kigali, has reduced to less than an hour, compared to three days in the past. “Before 2010, the process of clearing goods at the borders was very slow. We used to park at the border in a queue waiting for clearance for about 3 to 5 days, but now days it only takes a maximum of an hour which is far better compared to previous years” said Charles Kirwa a Kenya driver.

Kirwa attributes the increase in pace at the border to the introduction of 24 hour service at the borders. Border posts of most East African countries used to close at 6:00 pm, but there is a tremendous improvement since they operate 24 hours in a day. He further noted that Customs offi cials in most EAC countries have increased professionalism in executing their tasks. “There has been great improvement in professionalism and Customer Care demonstrated by Customs offi cials, “especially at the Rwandan border”. He also highlighted that there is always a special personnel to monitor the services drivers are receiving, and try to address any concerns raised.”

Another Kenyan driver, Ole Scoi, also comments that the Magerwa Clearance house in Kigali has increased working time of its employees, to clear more trucks a day. “We used to spend about four days at the border and other four days at Magerwa, trying to clear our cargo. However, Magerwa also increased the working hours from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm, which helps us to start our next journey on time.”

Bus transport companies also reveal that the increase in working hours has led to increase in passenger travellers from

country to country, which is illustrated by the current increase in routes and transport companies from all the EA countries.

Hassan Kakemba, a supervisor at the Kampala coaches explains, “Before adopting the Customs Union, borders closed at 6:00 pm, forcing us to schedule few routes, or spend part of the night at the border waiting for morning. but since opening the borders 24 hours, we have almost tripled up our routes and increased profi ts from our business.”

Most passengers on business trips or with busy schedules also utilize the night time for travelling ahead of working day Kakemba noted.

Truck drivers also indicate that there are hardly any road blocks on the roads as the case before Rwanda joined East African Community where some countries in the region had over 20 roadblocks on their land. Jamil Mukasa, a Ugandan driver says, “We used to meet very many roadblocks and we would stop on each roadblock for over 15 minutes. Roadblocks minimized the routes one made and encouraged corruption, yet they were unnecessary.” He stressed

He adds, “Members states have reduced the road blocks almost to zero, and the main checking of cargo is done at the border only. Weigh bridges in member countries, which measure the cargo a vehicle is carrying, have been adjusted”. According to a Tanzanian driver Juma Ndengo. “Weigh bridges limited the cargo on board very much and they were not standard, which led to losses by transporters.

Member countries have however increased the minimum weight accepted on board and countries like Rwanda have standardized weigh bridges.”

He also hails the infrastructural development facilitated by the relationship between member countries, saying that agreements between member states, like Uganda and Rwanda on upgrading of the Kigali-Katuna- Kampala roadway, will increase speed and safety in transportation. There has been reduction in taxes on commodities imported from EAC countries, through exempting expenses on transportation of commodities from the origin to the destination.

Madina Nirere, a local businesswoman who imports some of her goods from regional countries like Kenya and Uganda

says; “Before adjusting the taxes, goods imported from other EA countries were taxed on several criteria, including the expenditure of transporting them, which made them expensive and with low demand locally.” Local citizens, especially those living near boarders, also note that the integration has facilitated them to conduct trade across their local borders, and do shopping in their neighboring town of a different country.

She further elucidated that the residents are supposed to register and present their home identifi cation, upon entry in another country’s market, other than fi rst seeking the Laissez-Passez or the passports which may take time to get. At the border of Burundi and Rwanda for instance, in Bugesera district, Ruhuha market is used by citizens of both Rwanda and Burundi. About 30 percent of the people who buy commodities from the market are Burundians- Ruhuha is the nearest town to them.

Evaliste Kabirigi, a Rwandan trader who sells mainly food stuffs in the Ruhuha market notes; “Burundians constitute over 30 percent of the customers who buy our commodities. They buy mainly foodstuffs, consumer products and building materials, which are cheaper than at their home.”

Jean Claude Mirimo a Burundian trader does his shopping from the Ruhuha and resells the commodities back home. He says, “After the launch of Customs Union, it became possible for Burundi citizens to cross over to Rwanda and do shopping from this market, unlike before, where we were limited by boundaries and local laws.”

The Minister of the East African community Monique Mukaruliza, in a separate interview, noted that such measures were taken to enable the local people to benefi t from cross-border trade. “It is very expensive for some of those citizens to travel to bigger towns to acquire passports and temporary documents.

We therefore facilitate them to engage in cross-border trade by using simpler registration upon entry and exit, and benefi ting from services like local citizens.” She also notes that barriers to free movement of people will be further eliminated after the introduction of the East African Identity Card, which is in the pipelines, as citizens of different East African countries will cross their home boarders without any limitation, including the local identifi cation and travel documents.

33

African Community since they perplex both the Customs Union and Common Market. However, progress has most notably been recorded at border posts, which are no longer highlighted as a major barrier by truck drivers. This has been likely been the result of introducing one stop border posts and 24/7 operations which avoid duplication of clearance procedures as well as reducing congestion and overnight waits.

According to voices of some of the citizens of EAC member states who have been involved in cross-border trade or regularly move across the bloc, NTBs have been progressively reduced a thing that has led to an increased trade in the region. Truck drivers, most of who transport goods to Kigali from the ports of Dar-es-Salaam and Nairobi, reveal that the time spent at the border to clear the goods in transit before proceeding to Kigali, has reduced to less than an hour, compared to three days in the past. “Before 2010, the process of clearing goods at the borders was very slow. We used to park at the border in a queue waiting for clearance for about 3 to 5 days, but now days it only takes a maximum of an hour which is far better compared to previous years” said Charles Kirwa a Kenya driver.

Kirwa attributes the increase in pace at the border to the introduction of 24 hour service at the borders. Border posts of most East African countries used to close at 6:00 pm, but there is a tremendous improvement since they operate 24 hours in a day. He further noted that Customs offi cials in most EAC countries have increased professionalism in executing their tasks. “There has been great improvement in professionalism and Customer Care demonstrated by Customs offi cials, “especially at the Rwandan border”. He also highlighted that there is always a special personnel to monitor the services drivers are receiving, and try to address any concerns raised.”

Another Kenyan driver, Ole Scoi, also comments that the Magerwa Clearance house in Kigali has increased working time of its employees, to clear more trucks a day. “We used to spend about four days at the border and other four days at Magerwa, trying to clear our cargo. However, Magerwa also increased the working hours from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm, which helps us to start our next journey on time.”

Bus transport companies also reveal that the increase in working hours has led to increase in passenger travellers from

country to country, which is illustrated by the current increase in routes and transport companies from all the EA countries.

Hassan Kakemba, a supervisor at the Kampala coaches explains, “Before adopting the Customs Union, borders closed at 6:00 pm, forcing us to schedule few routes, or spend part of the night at the border waiting for morning. but since opening the borders 24 hours, we have almost tripled up our routes and increased profi ts from our business.”

Most passengers on business trips or with busy schedules also utilize the night time for travelling ahead of working day Kakemba noted.

Truck drivers also indicate that there are hardly any road blocks on the roads as the case before Rwanda joined East African Community where some countries in the region had over 20 roadblocks on their land. Jamil Mukasa, a Ugandan driver says, “We used to meet very many roadblocks and we would stop on each roadblock for over 15 minutes. Roadblocks minimized the routes one made and encouraged corruption, yet they were unnecessary.” He stressed

He adds, “Members states have reduced the road blocks almost to zero, and the main checking of cargo is done at the border only. Weigh bridges in member countries, which measure the cargo a vehicle is carrying, have been adjusted”. According to a Tanzanian driver Juma Ndengo. “Weigh bridges limited the cargo on board very much and they were not standard, which led to losses by transporters.

Member countries have however increased the minimum weight accepted on board and countries like Rwanda have standardized weigh bridges.”

He also hails the infrastructural development facilitated by the relationship between member countries, saying that agreements between member states, like Uganda and Rwanda on upgrading of the Kigali-Katuna- Kampala roadway, will increase speed and safety in transportation. There has been reduction in taxes on commodities imported from EAC countries, through exempting expenses on transportation of commodities from the origin to the destination.

Madina Nirere, a local businesswoman who imports some of her goods from regional countries like Kenya and Uganda

says; “Before adjusting the taxes, goods imported from other EA countries were taxed on several criteria, including the expenditure of transporting them, which made them expensive and with low demand locally.” Local citizens, especially those living near boarders, also note that the integration has facilitated them to conduct trade across their local borders, and do shopping in their neighboring town of a different country.

She further elucidated that the residents are supposed to register and present their home identifi cation, upon entry in another country’s market, other than fi rst seeking the Laissez-Passez or the passports which may take time to get. At the border of Burundi and Rwanda for instance, in Bugesera district, Ruhuha market is used by citizens of both Rwanda and Burundi. About 30 percent of the people who buy commodities from the market are Burundians- Ruhuha is the nearest town to them.

Evaliste Kabirigi, a Rwandan trader who sells mainly food stuffs in the Ruhuha market notes; “Burundians constitute over 30 percent of the customers who buy our commodities. They buy mainly foodstuffs, consumer products and building materials, which are cheaper than at their home.”

Jean Claude Mirimo a Burundian trader does his shopping from the Ruhuha and resells the commodities back home. He says, “After the launch of Customs Union, it became possible for Burundi citizens to cross over to Rwanda and do shopping from this market, unlike before, where we were limited by boundaries and local laws.”

The Minister of the East African community Monique Mukaruliza, in a separate interview, noted that such measures were taken to enable the local people to benefi t from cross-border trade. “It is very expensive for some of those citizens to travel to bigger towns to acquire passports and temporary documents.

We therefore facilitate them to engage in cross-border trade by using simpler registration upon entry and exit, and benefi ting from services like local citizens.” She also notes that barriers to free movement of people will be further eliminated after the introduction of the East African Identity Card, which is in the pipelines, as citizens of different East African countries will cross their home boarders without any limitation, including the local identifi cation and travel documents.

34

DEFENCE TO UPHOPEACE AND STABIL

eaC protocol on Cooperation inMilitary Representatives of EAC Armies meet in Kigali

35

The East African Community Protocol on cooperation aims to promote peace and stability within the region and good neighborliness among partner states in order to guarantee the protection and preservation of life and property, the wellbeing of the people in the community and their environment as well as the creation of conditions conducive to sustainable development.

The protocol also aims to prevent confl icts and promote peacebuidling and post-confl ict initiatives to consolidate peace.

Defence cooperation is one of the active areas in which fi ve countries defence forces work jointly and socialize through annual military sports, culture events and training exercises. The defence cooperation is ahead in the integration agenda with partner states fully committed. Therefore, the protocol comes as an upgrade into a more binding and powerful instrument, that intends to reinforce more the existing cooperation.

The defence cooperation has built confi dence among armed force of Partner Sates and promoted peaceful neighborliness. The success of Defence cooperation will contribute to a sustainable development as well as socio-political and economic integration. It is important to note that defence protocol comes into force after 13 years of successful cooperation of the EAC armed forces.

The protocol lays down four areas of cooperation, military training, joint operations, technical assistance, visits and exchange of information among armed forces.

The fundamental principles of partner states in execution of this protocol are mutual trust, political will, sovereign equality, peaceful-settlement of disputes, equitable distribution of benefi ts and good governance.

It also aims at appreciating cooperation in defence with the rationale of fostering better understanding of the various instruments of international law as applied in the EAC context, attempting to clear any doubts, suspicion and misunderstandings regarding cooperation in defence, improve a process of EAC integration, its benefi ts, requirements, challenges and opportunities.

The protocol was upgraded from a Memorandum of Understanding because the MOU did not have a binding force and seeing where EAC heads, there was a strong need for a biding legal instrument to foster a strong cooperation. There is no way a political federation could be reached without a binding instrument in defence cooperation. The defence cooperation constitutes one of the critical underpinnings of EAC that is committed to establishing a political federation. The defence sector plays a pivotal role and is key in integration process.

The Sectoral council on cooperation in defence in its ordinary meeting in 2009 reiterated on the need to have a stronger framework in line with the growing mandate and programs of the community such as the entry into force of the common market protocol where there is free movement of factors of production and rights of citizens to establish their businesses or reside in any of the partner states.

The high level forum to upgrade the MOU into a protocol was established and kick started the work in February 2010 with a zero draft protocol on cooperation in defence. The protocol was signed on April 30, 2012 during the Extra-Ordinary meeting of the Heads of state.

The Cooperation between EAC Partner states pre-dates the establishment of East African Community. While the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC was signed on 30th November 1999 and entered into force on 7th July 2000, the fi rst memorandum of understanding on cooperation in defence was signed by partner states on 30th April 1998.

By Kayitesi Gertrude

LD ITY

36

EAC EDUCATION SYSTEMS AND TRAINING CURRICULA TO BE HARMONIZED

The 23rd Council of Ministers approved the establishment of a technical committee to oversee the process of harmonization of East African Partner States education systems and training curricula. The mandate of the technical committee is to facilitate smooth operationalization and execution of the process of harmonization of education system and training curricula by expanding and concretizing the recommendations of the regional report on the harmonization of East African Education Systems and training curricula.

The 1st meeting of the technical committee on the harmonization of the EAC partner states education systems and training curricula was convened in

accordance with approved calendar of EAC activities for the period of January to June 2012. The meeting was convened in collaboration with GIZ and aimed at validating terms of reference of the technical committee, negotiate and consolidate the amended recommendations and adopt the road map on the operations of the technical committee.

The meeting was attended by nominated members of the technical committee from partner states and representatives from the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA). Ms. Mary Makoffu, Director of Social Sectors at the EAC Secretariat said “the meeting had been convened to comply with the decisions of the 23rd council of

Ministers to establish a technical committee to oversee the process of harmonization of EAC partner states education systems and training curricula”.

She emphasized that in the Common Market Protocol that came into force in 2010, East African Community partner states identifi ed harmonization of the education curricula, standards, assessment and the evaluation of education programs as a priority issue to facilitate the free movement of human resources. The protocol highlights the need for having comparable qualifi cations, harmonization of national qualifi cation structures, students and staff exchange.

By Mutoni Merab

37

The Deputy Executive Secretary, Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) Prof Pontien Ndabaneze said that one of the mandates of Inter-University Council for East Africa is implementation of the Common Market Protocol annex on mutual recognition of of academic and professional qualifi cations through harmonization of education systems to enable students and academic staff mobility within the region and globally. To achieve this goal, the IUCEA in collaboration with national commissions/council for higher education and the German Academic Service initiated a capacity building program aiming at introducing a regional quality assurance system in East Africa Universities.

Prof Ndabaneze highlighted that the implementation of quality assurance is conducted in a consultative and participatory manner by involving stakeholders including the ministries for higher education, university managers at different levels, academicians and students.

He further noted that training sessions were organized to train quality assurance coordinators from member universities in order to establish structures in universities. He said that currently, many universities have institutionalized quality assurance in their structures.

He further noted that IUCEA with the support of EAC is developing an East

African qualifi cations framework as an appropriate platform for harmonization of higher education and training systems, skills, competences and qualifi cations. This mechanism will facilitate the process of mutual recognition of qualifi cations across the region. He pointed out that the mechanism includes learning outcomes, credits systems and credit transfer. Article 5 and 102 of the East Africa Community Treaty states that, the partner states agreed to undertake concreted measures to foster cooperation in education and training within the community.

During the meeting, it was recommended that, there is need to create an increasing networked and inter-related set of curricula and examination systems at all levels in the formal and non-formal systems, linked in such a way that these systems processes overlapping inter-connected and comparable logic that is capable of infl uencing each other across the partner states. It also recommended that both the curricula and examination systems should be harmonized, the East African Examination Council revised, examination and grading systems should be aligned so as to achieve comparability and commonness and that each partner state should develop a national qualifi cation framework that will provide benchmarks for all qualifi cations and determining credit transfers for trainees in the region.

The participants also agreed on the structure of education, actual learning years, content and core subjects. Harmonization in this case should focus on the duration of the learning and the comparability of the content in terms of depth, scope and not necessarily the structure. It was observed that there is need to propose a mechanism for sharing of teachers across partner states in cases where one country has much more teaching capacity than it needs. And lastly, it was recommended that there should be an introduction of a common language of instruction at early childhood development stage preferably a language most commonly spoken within the respective local settings.

In order to foster cooperation and develop common practices in education and training, partner states are urged to harmonize their philosophies of education in the region along with curricula, assessments and methods of instruction. Taking cognizance of the important role that education plays in the integration process, particularly in facilitating intra-regional and optimal utilization of skills and competencies, there was need to look into the possibilities of harmonizing education and training systems in the region.

38

EU MARKET

Rwanda is one of the 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacifi c (ACP) States that was founded in 1975 with the Georgetown Agreement.The objectives of the ACP Group as stated in the amended (in 2003) Georgetown Agreement are: the eradication of poverty; sustainable development of its members; their gradual integration into the world economy; peace and stability in a free and democratic society; and, greater ACP integration overall through cementing economic, political, social and cultural ties.Since 1975 trade relations between ACP Countries and European Union (EU) has been governed by Preferential Trading Arrangements (PTAs). The most recent PTA between ACP and EU is the Cotonou Agreement (ACP-EC Partnership Agreement) in June 2000 by 78 ACP Countries (with Cuba being the exception) and the EU-15.

The Cotonou Agreement was designed

A� er the conclusion of EPAs negotiations

eaC Countries to aCCess

DUTY FREEto establish a comprehensive partnership based on three complimentary pillars: development cooperation; economic and trade cooperation; and, the political dimension. The key objective of the Agreement was eventual elimination of poverty with sustainable development and gradual integration of ACP countries to the world economy. The Cotonou Agreement was based on four main principles, viz. partnership, participation, dialogue and mutual obligations, and differentiation and regionalization. The key players of cooperation recognized by the Agreement are states (authorities and/or organisations of states at local, national and regional level); and Non-state players (private sector, economic and social partners, including trade union organisations, civil society in all its forms according to national characteristics). The Cotonou Agreement contained non-reciprocal preferences – duty free market access to the EU for ACP countries’

signatories which was incompatible with the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) provisions of the WTO. In 2001, a WTO waiver was negotiated to continue with the unilateral tariff preferences and was granted until 31 December 2007. The waiver essentially meant that the Preferential Trading Arrangement (PTA) under Cotonou Agreement would come to an end on 31 December 2007.

In order to address the inconsistency with the WTO rules, Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) negotiations commenced in 2002 at all ACP level. One of the key objectives was reciprocity in adhering to the WTO agreement. (Article XXIV of GATT/WTO states that trading arrangements should cover substantial trade, there should be a time frame and a plan in reducing tariffs.)Other objectives were, to be development oriented, regionally based, and differentiated meaning fl exibility

By Sanath Jayanetti

39

in providing special and differential treatment considering different levels of development.

In 2003, the negotiations continued at the regional level to address regional issues. Uganda and Kenya, later Burundi and Rwanda negotiated under East and Southern Africa (ESA) while Tanzania as a member state of SADC negotiated under SADC. Later EAC as a regional entity commenced negotiations with EU. (Rwanda is negotiating with EU through EAC). The negotiations have extended beyond the initial 31 December 2007 deadline with only one full EPA being signed between the EC and the Caribbean Community Forum (CARIFORUM). On the other hand, several interim agreements have been initialed between the EC and individual countries and sub-regions. Rwanda initialed the Interim EPA as a Partner State of the EAC Customs Union. The EAC initialed interim EPA with the EU (in 2007) which includes: asymmetry in favour of EAC Partner States in the case of trade liberalization and on application of trade related measure including trade defense instruments; allows EAC partner states to maintain regional preferences; duty and quota-free access for EAC imports to the EU; gradual liberalisation (removal of duties and quotas) over 25 years of 82 per cent of EU exports (64 per cent in 2010- in the EAC Common External Tariff (CET) these are machinery and raw material which are already at 0 per cent), 16 per centby 2023 and 2 percent by 2033); exclusion of EAC sensitive sectors from liberalisation for the remaining 18 per cent of EU imports(sectors still needing protection from EU imports, e.g. coffee, tea and spices, fi sh, meat, dairy products, certain vegetables and oils, cut fl owers); special agreements on extensive co-operation on sustainable fi shing; new and extended Rules of Origin for farming, fi shing and clothing; and, rules for settling trade disputes. All interim EPAs contain also non-binding commitments on development cooperation.

Rwanda can also have duty free and quota free market access to EU under Everything-But-Arms (EBA) initiative which is unilaterally offered by EU as long as Rwanda remains as a LDC. To qualify for preferential access, the initiative is subject to Rules of Origin, labor issues and governance matters set by EU. Since this is unilateral it could be withdrawn anytime. Therefore for Rwanda moving into a full regional EAC-EU EPA, which will bring-in stability to the trading environment and help attracting investors,

seems to be the best option. Negotiations are ongoing towards full regional EAC-EU EPA after slow progress and stalling for sometime due to lack of consensus, re-commenced in 2011. The two parties agreed on principle and substantive items to start negotiations in November 2011 and the conclusion to be determined by the progress of the negotiations.

The Government of Rwanda had commissioned a study through the Ministry of Trade and Industry on the impact of EPAs on social economic development. The study recommended actions to be considered by the Government of Rwanda during the negotiations. On the overall impact results, the study indicated a positive welfare effect of EPAs on the Rwandan economy. Total welfare effects during 2010 were estimated at RWFs 46.8 billion or about 1.5 per cent of GDP.

These welfare benefi ts were in the forms of reduced prices due to elimination of import duties on imported commodities, the availability of more product varieties in markets, better quality products and employment generation due to increased productions to meet the wider market.

The EPAs cover broad areas of economic cooperation in addition to trade in goods and services. So far in the EPA negotiations between EAC and EU, negotiations on customs and trade facilitation have been concluded where emphasis has been made on capacity building. Both parties have also agreed on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures.

Negotiations on Agriculture are to begin soon. Under economic cooperation, EAC-EC development cooperation and development matrix has been developed where Rwanda has submitted projects to EC for consideration. Rules of Origin texts are yet to be fi nalized.

As for the deadline to conclude EPAs, when the ACP Ministers in charge of trade met during their 29th meeting on October 2010 rejected any attempt for fi xing deadlines for the conclusion of the EPAs. Instead the Ministers proposed a list of indicative development criteria to be achieved at national and regional level as pre-conditions before signing EPAs.

These include industrial production particularly the manufacturing sector, degree of transformation of exports, intra-regional trade and ACP-EU trade. The Ministers also proposed that a regular review of these indicators be conducted to measure the degree of readiness of the region to sign an EPA.

EPAs will provide predictable market access to a larger market where Rwandan traders will have continued preferential access to the European markets for their exports. Even, for countries covered under the Everything-But-Arms (EBA) initiative, there is a need to have a more predictable regime than just a unilateral arrangement. A transparent and predictable trade regime with a simplifi ed Rules of Origin criterion will increase FDI infl ows. Aid for Trade is an added support mechanism which will facilitate this process.

40

Countries in EAC, COMESA and SADC regional groupings have resumed tripartite negotiations in Mauritius. The fi rst meeting took place in Lusaka, Zambia on 12-14 March 2012 and the 2nd meeting was held from 1-3 June 2012 Mauritius.

The negotiations are aimed at agreeing on how to harmonize trading arrangements amongst the three RECs, free movement of business persons, joint implementation of inter regional infrastructure programs as well as institutional arrangements.

The key objectives of the proposed COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite FTA made up of 26 member countries, with a combined population of nearly 600 million people and a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) approximately US$1.0 trillion are to: liberalize and facilitate trade

in goods through, among other things, the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers in substantially all traded goods, liberalize trade in services in selected sectors between the trading partners in the FTA, facilitate, promote and enhance trade and investment as well as other areas of cooperation such as industry, agricultural development and food security; enhance movement of business persons across the region; and develop and implement joint infrastructure programs. The Tripartite Integration process is anchored on three (3) pillars namely: Market integration, Infrastructure Development to enhance connectivity and reduce costs of doing business and Industrial development to address the productive capacity constraints.

The tripartite is an umbrella organization consisting of three of Africa’s

regional economic communities (RECs) namely; the East African Community, The Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The tripartite was established in 2005 with the focus of harmonization of regional economic community programmes in the areas of trade and infrastructure development. In 2007, the tripartite task force recommended that a tripartite summit of heads of state and the government of COMESA, EAC and SADC be convened. The envisaged summit would give important direction and political endorsement to the tripartite efforts to harmonize their various programs and would increase buy-in of member states.

The overreaching objectives of the tripartite is to contribute to the broader

RESUMEDNEGOTIATIONSTRIPARTITETHE EAC-COMESA-SADC

41

objectives of the African Union, namely accelerating economic integration of the continent and achieving sustainable economic development thereby alleviating poverty and improving quality life for the people of Eastern and Southern African region.

These regional integration programs focus on expanding and integrating trade and include the establishment of free trade areas (FTAs), Customs Union, Monetary Unions and Common Markets as well as infrastructure development projects in transport, information and communications technology and energy.

With more than 527 million people and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately 624 billion USD, the

26 member countries of the tripartite make up 57% of the population of the African Union and just over 58% in terms of contribution to GDP. This makes the tripartite vital to the envisaged single market and continental integration of African Economic Community.

The Tripartite Committee of Senior Offi cials discussed issues relating to Market integration, infrastructure development and industrial development. These are crucial issues because; work on the market integration pillar will not only deal with the removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers but will also promote inter-REC investment fl ows and improve support services for business development. John Mwesige Rwanda’s

negotiator said “the tripartite summit has set the target of 2015 to achieve the tripartite FTA and we need to sustain our political commitments in order to keep the momentum throughout the negotiations”.

Ambassador George William Kayonga, Permanent Secretary MINEAC was chosen as the chief negotiator for the EAC region during the TCSO meeting in Mauritius that took place between 1-3 June, 2012.

Bene� ts Tripartite to the Rwandan Community.

The creation of the Tripartite FTA identifi es a wide variety of opportunities; it can be mentioned that the enlargement of regional markets and increased investments; Consumer welfare gains arising from lower prices; Improved bargaining power in negotiating forums; Improved access to the sea for landlocked countries; Improved trade facilitation and customs procedures; benefi ts from the free movement of business persons; Addressing the challenges of multiple memberships of Regional Economic Communities and gain from liberalization of Trade in Services.

The establishment of a Tripartite Free Trade Area will bolster intra-regional trade by creating a wider market, increase investment fl ows, enhance competitiveness and develop cross-regional infrastructure; adopted a developmental approach to the Tripartite Integration process that will be anchored on three (3) pillars namely: Market integration based on the Tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA); Infrastructure Development to enhance connectivity and reduce costs of doing business as well as Industrial development to address the productive capacity constraints; and agreed that the Tripartite initiative is a decisive step to achieve the African vision of establishing the African Economic Community envisioned in the Lagos Plan of Action and the Final Act of Lagos of 1980, Abuja Treaty of 1991 as well as the resolution of the African Union Summit held in Banjul the Gambia in 2006 that directed the African Union Commission and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to harmonize and coordinate policies and programs of RECs as important strategies for rationalization; and to put in place mechanisms to facilitate the process of harmonization and coordination within and among the RECs.

42

By Paul R. Masson

A monetary union is an area in which everyone uses the same currency and in which a regional central bank sets the monetary policy for the entire community.

In 2007, EAC heads of state made a decision to fast track this project, and to achieve monetary union by 2012. The end result of a monetary union is to create a new currency for the region that would replace existing national currencies. Negotiations of a monetary union protocol are currently under way, but actual implementation of the monetary union looks unattainable by the end of 2012.

A single currency for the EAC has obvious benefi ts, but also less evident costs. The cost of changing money to transact with people or fi rms in other countries of the region would be eliminated. While those costs are not enormous, they nevertheless stand

A SINGLE CURRENCY FOR EAST AFRICA:

Is it Feasible, and, if so, by when?

in the way of an expansion of intra-regional fl ows of commerce and capital. A single currency would enhance regional integration and boost growth. In the European Union, the decision to launch the euro was made in large part

because it was felt that it was a necessary complement to the European common market; the euro reduced obstacles to the free movement of goods and factors of production, because now prices could be easily compared and transactions across

42

By Paul R. Masson

A monetary union is an area in which everyone uses the same currency and in which a regional central bank sets the monetary policy for the entire community.

In 2007, EAC heads of state made a decision to fast track this project, and to achieve monetary union by 2012. The end result of a monetary union is to create a new currency for the region that would replace existing national currencies. Negotiations of a monetary union protocol are currently under way, but actual implementation of the monetary union looks unattainable by the end of 2012.

A single currency for the EAC has obvious benefi ts, but also less evident costs. The cost of changing money to transact with people or fi rms in other countries of the region would be eliminated. While those costs are not enormous, they nevertheless stand

A SINGLE CURRENCY FOR EAST AFRICA:

Is it Feasible, and, if so, by when?

in the way of an expansion of intra-regional fl ows of commerce and capital. A single currency would enhance regional integration and boost growth. In the European Union, the decision to launch the euro was made in large part

because it was felt that it was a necessary complement to the European common market; the euro reduced obstacles to the free movement of goods and factors of production, because now prices could be easily compared and transactions across

43

borders could be made at a lower cost.

What is sometimes not well understood is that the monetary union project involves constraints on member countries as well as resource costs needed to introduce the single currency and make the monetary union work smoothly. At present, the central banks of countries in the EAC can use their monetary policies to boost demand, or to rein in infl ation, should circumstances warrant.

If all the EAC countries face the same circumstances, then the single currency is not a problem; but if they don’t, then they may suffer from having given up the ability to operate a country-specifi c monetary policy. In a monetary union, there is only a single monetary policy—not different policies tailored to each country’s needs. (National central banks may continue to exist, but they would be subsidiary to the regional central bank, which would determine its monetary policy on the basis of economic conditions throughout the region.)

A monetary union also creates dangers of excessive credit growth that can lead to asset bubbles (when asset prices are boosted by speculation) and excessive government defi cits.

This is the case because with a single currency, equity and debt instruments throughout the region will be issued in the same currency, and therefore securities issued in Kigali, for instance, will be easily accessible to a pension fund in Nairobi or a bank in Kampala.

While this helps lead to an effi cient allocation of capital, it may also lead to excessive borrowing; this danger has to be addressed through strengthening regional institutions. The current crisis within the euro zone has highlighted the relevance of this, as a low interest rate environment helped create real estate booms in Spain, over-expansion of banks in Ireland, and excessive government defi cits in Greece, Portugal, and Italy—with subsequent crises as the implications became clear.

A monetary union removes some of the constraints on imprudent behavior, by creating a large pool of capital that can freely fl ow across borders. Hence it is important to offset those perverse incentives by strengthening other mechanisms, such as prudential controls on banks and limits on government defi cits.

The euro zone also demonstrates how

diffi cult it is to do this. The Stability and Growth Pact—which all countries in the euro zone voluntarily agreed to—was designed to prevent public defi cits and debt from getting out of hand. It requires governments to keep their fi scal defi cits to within 3 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and public debt to 60 percent of GDP.

Otherwise they could be censured and ultimately have to pay fi nes up to 0.5 percent of their GDP. However, the Stability and Growth Pact failed in its purpose of disciplining fi scal policies, and many countries—including the two largest, Germany and France—exceeded the ceilings.

The European Union is now undertaking to give it more teeth while at the same time not stifl ing growth. It has also set up the European Banking Authority to reinforce bank supervision. However, how these reforms will operate in practice and details of their application remain to be seen.

The EAC will have to come up with its own mechanisms to prevent these sorts of imprudent behavior, otherwise the region’s monetary union will also come under attack. But the EAC at present has much weaker community institutions than did the European Union at the launch of the euro. Establishing community institutions that are effective in enforcing constraints on national fi scal policies and preventing banking crises will take considerable time, because these institutions will need to acquire expertise and experience gradually over time.

After a dozen years the euro zone has still not achieved this; while the EAC will benefi t from the EU’s experience, it cannot just adopt the euro zone’s institutions, but rather needs to create ones that are appropriate for the region’s circumstances.

The EAC’s treaty also has the objective of creating a federation among the countries of the region—a political grouping with a strong regional government. When created, an EAC federation would have the powers needed to control excessive borrowing in the member countries.

So monetary union is unlikely to occur at once, or even in 5 years—2020 is probably a more realistic target date. What can be done in the meantime, in addition to the patient effort needed to create the necessary institutions? The fi rst would be

to complete the work already engaged to create a common market among the fi ve EAC countries. This means removing all barriers to regional trade, and also improving infrastructure—roads, airports, seaports. The second would be to involve the public in the project, and hopefully get them to feel comfortable with the prospect of replacing their national currencies by the regional money.

One way of doing so might be to introduce early on a regional currency that would circulate in parallel with the existing ones. Its value could be defi ned by a basket of the national currencies, and issued by a currency board that held the national currencies as backing for the new currency.

(Currency boards have been used in past, including EAC countries when the shillings of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were backed by the pound sterling. They are a mechanism for ensuring that the currency keeps its value).

If the new currency were made legal tender (that is, could not be refused as payment), then it might be especially attractive in border regions and for people and fi rms involved in tourism and cross-border trade. Some government involvement would probably be needed to make conversion of existing money into the regional currency easy; but if operated by a currency board, the currency would not need much institutional support because it would not lead to additional monetary expansion-it would partially replace, not supplement, existing national money supplies.

Use of the basket currency would get the public used to the common currency, and thus pave the way for creation of a full monetary union. It would give some of the benefi ts of a single regional currency—notably lowering the cost of cross-border trade—if it circulated widely. And it could be introduced much sooner, and at a lower cost.

In sum, a monetary union in the EAC will not be created overnight. It will be helpful in reducing transactions costs, but remove the ability of countries to run their own monetary policies. It should be seen as an important step along the way toward complete regional integration, but one should not lose sight of other, perhaps more signifi cant, steps that can also be taken—particularly reducing non-tariff barriers to trade and improving transportation infrastructure.

44

45

As the EAC Heads of States endorse the veri� cation of Southern Sudan application to join EA Community, what implication will it have?

S. SUDAN APPLICATIONTO JOIN EAC

its establishment as a sovereign state, Southern Sudan applied join the East African Community in November 2011, months after the government of Khartoum’s application had been rejected by EAC heads of state in summit in Bujumbura on grounds of geographical proximity.

After thorough scrutiny of the Southern Sudan’s application, the EAC heads of state directed the council of Ministers to come up with a verifi cation report by November 2012 regarding S. Sudan’s request for admission into the fi ve nation regional bloc. The Heads of State also expressed their concern about the current Sudan-Southern Sudan standoff and urged the leaders of both countries to turn to the negotiation table for a peaceful confl ict resolution.

The process of verifi cation of a foreign country’s compliance as enshrined in the treaty, includes adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice, potential contribution to the strengthening of the integration within the East African region, geographical proximity to EAC Partner State and establishment and maintenance of a market driven economy and Social and economic policies being compatible with those of the community. A verifi cation team of experts was established by the council and approved by the Summit on April 28, 2012 purposely to review the status of South Sudan in adherence to criteria for admission of foreign countries as provided in the Treaty.

Establish South Sudan’s readiness and ability to adhere to the acquis communautaire of East African Community, establish Southern Sudan’s readiness to join EAC customs Union, Common Market and participate in the on-going negotiations of the Monetary Union.

The verifi cation team will also assess South Sudan’s development strategies and plans in major collaboration areas including infrastructure, energy, education, and science and technology, environment and natural resource management, monetary, fi scal affairs, peace, security and international cooperation.

The team is expected to hold one fi eld mission to South Sudan by end of June or Early July 2012 and thereafter prepare and submit a report by 15th August to the Council of Ministers schedule to meet late August 2012.

By Nathan Gashayija

His Excellency President Salva Kiir

What will be the implications of S. Sudan’s accession to EAC?

The Republic of Southern Sudan is the World’s newest country that gained its independence on July 9, 2011 from Northern Sudan Government. Sudan has a population of approximately 8.2 million people (2005) and a surface area of 239,285.

Its economy is mainly based on exportation of its natural resources and oil is the main source of export. Some of its other natural resources include timber, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, and tungsten, mica, silver and gold. Hydropower is also important as the Nile River has many tributaries in Southern Sudan.

Agriculture also plays a major role in

South Sudan’s economy and the main products of that industry are cotton, sugarcane, wheat, nuts and fruit like mangoes, papaya and bananas. Following

48

By Andrew Othieno, Kampala

On November 30, 1993, the countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, driven by historical ties, the need to promote sustainable utilization of the regions’ natural resources, enhance the role of women, and to promote peace security and good neighborliness within the region, agreed to establish a Permanent Tripartite Commission (PTC) for East African Cooperation (EAC).

Almost two decades have passed since then, and thus far the EAC’s main achievement has been the commencement – on 1st July, 2010 – of the Common Market.

The success of the EAC should be analysed from three main vantage points, that is, ‘progress’ made since the PTC, ‘challenges’ faced along the way, and ‘recommendations’ for the future. In this missive, I would like to delve in and around issues pertaining to challenges that have been faced by the EAC.

Citizens of East Africa have, more often than not, been disappointed by what they judge to be more talk and less action. In reference to the EAC, the buzzword

has commonly become “we don’t walk the talk”! However, this invalid judgment is often made without putting into consideration the fact that each member state works under, and is surrounded by many challenges and constraints, which – very unfortunately – hinder our ambitions towards regional integration.

Several examples could be pointed out to illustrate these challenges, but the most evident and palpably observable example is that which stems from “national security”.

Specifi c security-related incidents have occurred since the establishment of the PTC to illustrate the extent of this challenge, and its potentially devastating effect not only on the process of regional integration, but on the livelihood of the East African region as a whole.

Retrospectively, the immediate post-PTC period did not augur well for East Africa. Only one year later (1994) tensions were high in Rwanda, and a series of unfortunate ethnic-related events climaxed into a horrendous four-month genocide against the country’s Tutsi.(April – July, 1994). At that time Rwanda was not even party to the PTC initiative

towards regional integration. However, this is a country that the rest of us, that is, Kenyans, Ugandans, and Tanzanians, can look at as ‘right across the street!’ During and after the genocide an infl ux of refugees were pouring in from left, right, and center.

Security forces of surrounding countries were on very high alert while death loomed in and around East Africa, and the Great Lakes region as a whole.

At a time of emergency such as this, one would have expected all East African nations to cautiously build even stronger barriers around their borders for fear that the genocide would, in one way or another, inadvertently spill-over into their countries (you don’t open your gate even wider if someone is mercilessly slaughtering your neighbor!).

This dreadful incident posed a great challenge for all surrounding countries. However, our leaders courageously went ahead to work towards breaking down barriers in accordance with the PTC that they had fi rmly agreed upon.

Still focusing on security, a similar but lower-scale incident occurred in 1998,

THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY –

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

49

that is, fi ve years after the spark towards integration had been successfully ignited. On April 30th (1998), the PTC launched a draft treaty for establishment of the EAC, but only four months later, that is, on August 7th, the US Embassy bombings struck in Kenya and Tanzania. Once again, East Africa was on HIGH ALERT, and one would have expected respective leaders to decide that it would be wise to defensively strengthen borders.

These tragic incidents could have thrown ambitions towards integration completely OFF balance, but in the same show of determination the political-will maintained very strong resolve, which rendered the PTC un-phased by these tragic incidents; it continued ploughing on towards integration.

In the same vein; July 1st, 2010, historically marked commencement of the operationalisation of the Common Market. The long march towards transforming the EAC region into a common or single market was indeed a milestone, and it began with unwavering fervor. However, only seven days later (i.e., July 7th) it “hit the fan” once again when Kampala was devastatingly hit by terrorist bomb blasts.

What should have been a lively viewing of the 2010 World Cup fi nals between Netherlands and Spain turned disastrous, as three bombs ripped through the city suburbs of Kampala leaving several dead and multitudes of others critically injured.

From different vantage points I could highlight several other challenges, in addition to national security, that occur as East Africa works towards integration. Therefore, one can only imagine the humongous task the leaders, and indeed the citizens of East Africa, have on their shoulders.

On a different note, the citizens of East Africa would like to see everything materializing tomorrow, but they also have to realize that it will defi nitely take time.

Before we are able to see the realities of integration on the ground, it is necessary, and only fair, to remember that economic technicalities have to be expertly calculated, social concerns and norms have to be very carefully attuned,

and multifaceted institutions of all kinds (e.g., cultural, fi nancial, educational, agricultural, etc) have to be profi ciently restructured towards integrative and sustainable cohesion. Whatever happens, the solid irrefutable fact is that all this will require a lot of time, and cannot happen overnight.

It is also worth arguing that if all East African member states had the same military and fi nancial strength enjoyed by the USA and the EU, we would be far ahead in the process.

If anything, we would have united yesterday. Therefore, impatient as they may be; East Africans have to empathise with their leaders and try to understand the multifarious constraints under which these leaders have to make very diffi cult integration-related decisions.

A lot has happened that could have given East Africa’s leaders second thoughts about integration. Recent events have also shown that there is a possibility that our leaders would have edged not only towards postponing the whole integration process, but also leaving the idea on the shelf to eternally gather dust.

However, it is encouraging to note that all fi ve (not ‘three’ anymore, but fi ve, including Rwanda and Burundi) member states are – together – still on that journey. Individual EAC member states have endured DEVASTATING BLOWS during the trek towards integration in ways that have had negative spillover effects on ALL member states, but nothing has weakened either our ambition or strong resolve.

To logically legitimize and authentically substantiate the purportedly strong

resolve being championed here, trade-related records and fi nancial statistics now show that total intra-EAC trade has increased from $1.85 billion in 2005 to $3.5 billion in 2009, while total Foreign Direct Investment into the region, during the same period, has risen from $910 million to $1.72 billion. It is also worth noting that the EAC region has a growing consumer market that currently stands at $133.5 million with a pooled GDP of $74.5 billion.

Having successfully completed the Customs Union phase, which was launched in 2005, the EAC has now embarked on building the Common Market, which was formally launched in July, 2010. Upon completion, the common market will provide for free movement of (1) goods, (2) services, (3) capital, and (4) labor (the EAC’s “Four Freedoms”).

It is also expected that the East African Monetary Union Protocol will offi cially be adopted in 2012, which is three years ahead of schedule.

Therefore, records are readily available to show that even while under duress of the potentially destabilizing challenge outlined above (…which is only one of several), EAC integration is in very high gear and it is defi nitely making sure and steady progress.

Bearing in mind the complex political-economic and intricate social-cultural confi gurations necessary for the foundational initiation and long-term sustainability of regional integration, the EAC has fared admirably well. There are defi nitely several challenges ahead, but one can safely and confi dently conclude that the East African Community is here, and it is here to stay.

bearing in mind the complex political-economic and intricate social-cultural configurations necessary for the foundational initiation and long-term sustainability of regional integration, the eaC has fared admirably well.

48

By Andrew Othieno, Kampala

On November 30, 1993, the countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, driven by historical ties, the need to promote sustainable utilization of the regions’ natural resources, enhance the role of women, and to promote peace security and good neighborliness within the region, agreed to establish a Permanent Tripartite Commission (PTC) for East African Cooperation (EAC).

Almost two decades have passed since then, and thus far the EAC’s main achievement has been the commencement – on 1st July, 2010 – of the Common Market.

The success of the EAC should be analysed from three main vantage points, that is, ‘progress’ made since the PTC, ‘challenges’ faced along the way, and ‘recommendations’ for the future. In this missive, I would like to delve in and around issues pertaining to challenges that have been faced by the EAC.

Citizens of East Africa have, more often than not, been disappointed by what they judge to be more talk and less action. In reference to the EAC, the buzzword

has commonly become “we don’t walk the talk”! However, this invalid judgment is often made without putting into consideration the fact that each member state works under, and is surrounded by many challenges and constraints, which – very unfortunately – hinder our ambitions towards regional integration.

Several examples could be pointed out to illustrate these challenges, but the most evident and palpably observable example is that which stems from “national security”.

Specifi c security-related incidents have occurred since the establishment of the PTC to illustrate the extent of this challenge, and its potentially devastating effect not only on the process of regional integration, but on the livelihood of the East African region as a whole.

Retrospectively, the immediate post-PTC period did not augur well for East Africa. Only one year later (1994) tensions were high in Rwanda, and a series of unfortunate ethnic-related events climaxed into a horrendous four-month genocide against the country’s Tutsi.(April – July, 1994). At that time Rwanda was not even party to the PTC initiative

towards regional integration. However, this is a country that the rest of us, that is, Kenyans, Ugandans, and Tanzanians, can look at as ‘right across the street!’ During and after the genocide an infl ux of refugees were pouring in from left, right, and center.

Security forces of surrounding countries were on very high alert while death loomed in and around East Africa, and the Great Lakes region as a whole.

At a time of emergency such as this, one would have expected all East African nations to cautiously build even stronger barriers around their borders for fear that the genocide would, in one way or another, inadvertently spill-over into their countries (you don’t open your gate even wider if someone is mercilessly slaughtering your neighbor!).

This dreadful incident posed a great challenge for all surrounding countries. However, our leaders courageously went ahead to work towards breaking down barriers in accordance with the PTC that they had fi rmly agreed upon.

Still focusing on security, a similar but lower-scale incident occurred in 1998,

THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY –

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

49

that is, fi ve years after the spark towards integration had been successfully ignited. On April 30th (1998), the PTC launched a draft treaty for establishment of the EAC, but only four months later, that is, on August 7th, the US Embassy bombings struck in Kenya and Tanzania. Once again, East Africa was on HIGH ALERT, and one would have expected respective leaders to decide that it would be wise to defensively strengthen borders.

These tragic incidents could have thrown ambitions towards integration completely OFF balance, but in the same show of determination the political-will maintained very strong resolve, which rendered the PTC un-phased by these tragic incidents; it continued ploughing on towards integration.

In the same vein; July 1st, 2010, historically marked commencement of the operationalisation of the Common Market. The long march towards transforming the EAC region into a common or single market was indeed a milestone, and it began with unwavering fervor. However, only seven days later (i.e., July 7th) it “hit the fan” once again when Kampala was devastatingly hit by terrorist bomb blasts.

What should have been a lively viewing of the 2010 World Cup fi nals between Netherlands and Spain turned disastrous, as three bombs ripped through the city suburbs of Kampala leaving several dead and multitudes of others critically injured.

From different vantage points I could highlight several other challenges, in addition to national security, that occur as East Africa works towards integration. Therefore, one can only imagine the humongous task the leaders, and indeed the citizens of East Africa, have on their shoulders.

On a different note, the citizens of East Africa would like to see everything materializing tomorrow, but they also have to realize that it will defi nitely take time.

Before we are able to see the realities of integration on the ground, it is necessary, and only fair, to remember that economic technicalities have to be expertly calculated, social concerns and norms have to be very carefully attuned,

and multifaceted institutions of all kinds (e.g., cultural, fi nancial, educational, agricultural, etc) have to be profi ciently restructured towards integrative and sustainable cohesion. Whatever happens, the solid irrefutable fact is that all this will require a lot of time, and cannot happen overnight.

It is also worth arguing that if all East African member states had the same military and fi nancial strength enjoyed by the USA and the EU, we would be far ahead in the process.

If anything, we would have united yesterday. Therefore, impatient as they may be; East Africans have to empathise with their leaders and try to understand the multifarious constraints under which these leaders have to make very diffi cult integration-related decisions.

A lot has happened that could have given East Africa’s leaders second thoughts about integration. Recent events have also shown that there is a possibility that our leaders would have edged not only towards postponing the whole integration process, but also leaving the idea on the shelf to eternally gather dust.

However, it is encouraging to note that all fi ve (not ‘three’ anymore, but fi ve, including Rwanda and Burundi) member states are – together – still on that journey. Individual EAC member states have endured DEVASTATING BLOWS during the trek towards integration in ways that have had negative spillover effects on ALL member states, but nothing has weakened either our ambition or strong resolve.

To logically legitimize and authentically substantiate the purportedly strong

resolve being championed here, trade-related records and fi nancial statistics now show that total intra-EAC trade has increased from $1.85 billion in 2005 to $3.5 billion in 2009, while total Foreign Direct Investment into the region, during the same period, has risen from $910 million to $1.72 billion. It is also worth noting that the EAC region has a growing consumer market that currently stands at $133.5 million with a pooled GDP of $74.5 billion.

Having successfully completed the Customs Union phase, which was launched in 2005, the EAC has now embarked on building the Common Market, which was formally launched in July, 2010. Upon completion, the common market will provide for free movement of (1) goods, (2) services, (3) capital, and (4) labor (the EAC’s “Four Freedoms”).

It is also expected that the East African Monetary Union Protocol will offi cially be adopted in 2012, which is three years ahead of schedule.

Therefore, records are readily available to show that even while under duress of the potentially destabilizing challenge outlined above (…which is only one of several), EAC integration is in very high gear and it is defi nitely making sure and steady progress.

Bearing in mind the complex political-economic and intricate social-cultural confi gurations necessary for the foundational initiation and long-term sustainability of regional integration, the EAC has fared admirably well. There are defi nitely several challenges ahead, but one can safely and confi dently conclude that the East African Community is here, and it is here to stay.

bearing in mind the complex political-economic and intricate social-cultural configurations necessary for the foundational initiation and long-term sustainability of regional integration, the eaC has fared admirably well.

50

CONTACT INFORMATIONEAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

QUICK FACTS:

1967: EAC � rst established

1977: EAC dissolved

30 Nov. 1993: Signing of Agreement for the Establishment of the Permanent Tripartite Commission for East African Cooperation

14 Mar. 1996: Secretariat of the Permanent Tripartite Commission launched, full co-operation operations begin

30 Nov.1999: Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community signed

7 Jul. 2000: Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community enters into force

18 Jun. 2007: The Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Burundi accede to EAC Treaty

1 Jul. 2007: Rwanda and Burundi become full members of the EAC

KEY EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY DATES:

Area (incl. water): 1.82 million sq. km

Population: 133.1 million (2010)

GDP (current market prices): $79.2 billion (2010)

EAC Headquarters: Arusha, Tanzania

First established: 1967

Re-established: 7 July 2000

Of� cial language: English

Summit Chairperson: H.E. Mwai Kibaki

Council Chairperson: Hon. Musa Sirma

Secretary General: Amb. Richard Sezibera

The Summit:

This comprises of heads of states or government of partner states gives general direction towards the realisation of the goal and objectives of the Community.

The Council of Ministers:

Is the main decision making institution. It consists of Ministers responsible for East African Community affairs of each Partner State; such other Ministers of the Partner State as each Partner State may determine; and the Attorney General of each Partner State.

The Co-ordinating Committee:

Consists of Permanent Secretaries responsible for East African Community affairs in each Partner State and such other Permanent Secretaries of the Partner State as each Partner State may determine. It reports to the Council and it is responsible for regional co-operation and co-ordinates the activitiesof the sectoral committee.

Sectoral Committees:

conceptualise programmes and monitor their implementation. Council establishes the committees on recommendation of the respective co-ordinating committee.

The East African Court of Justice:

Ensures the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the Treaty. The East African Legislative Assembly:provides a democratic forum for debate. It has a watchdog function and also plays a part in the legislative process.

The Secretariat:

is the executive organ of the Community. As the guardian of the Treaty, it ensures that regulations and directives adopted by the Council are properly implemented.

ORGANS OF THE COMMUNITY

RWANDA

Ministry of East African Community Affairs

4th Floor, MINAFFET Building, KimihururaP. O. Box 267, KigaliTel: +250 252 599120Email: [email protected] Website: www.mineac.gov.rw

BURUNDI


Street 28 NovembreEx-Building de l’OMSP. O. Box 6056, BujumburaTel: +257 22259715Email: [email protected] Website: www.eac.bi

KENYA

Ministry of East African Community

16th - 19th Floor, Co-operative Bank BuildingHaile Selassie AvenueP. O. Box 8846-00200City Square, NairobiTel: +254-2025324Fax: +254-020-2229650Email: [email protected] Website: www.meac.go.ke

TANZANIA

Ministry of East African Cooperation

5th Floor, NSSF Water Front Building P. O. Box 9280, Dar es SalaamTel: +255 22 2126660Fax: +255 22 2120488Email: [email protected] Website: www.meac.go.tz

UGANDA


Postel Building67/75 Yusuf Lule RoadP. O. Box 7343, KampalaEmail: [email protected] Website: www.meaca.go.ug

The ministries responsible for EAC Affairs in the respective Partner States are your � rst point of contact on all matters EAC at Partner State level.

Below you can � nd the necessary contact details, including physical locations, of these Ministries.

The East African Legislative Assembly:

is the legislative arm of the Community that prepares, passes and inacts bills and laws. It also plays an oversight role to the executive arm of the community which is the EAC secretariat.


Mission

Vision


MINEACP.O.Box 267 Kigali-RwandaMINAFFET Buidling 4th [email protected]

A prosperous competitive, secure and politically united East Africa.

Twitter: @mineacrwanda50

CONTACT INFORMATIONEAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

QUICK FACTS:

1967: EAC � rst established

1977: EAC dissolved

30 Nov. 1993: Signing of Agreement for the Establishment of the Permanent Tripartite Commission for East African Cooperation

14 Mar. 1996: Secretariat of the Permanent Tripartite Commission launched, full co-operation operations begin

30 Nov.1999: Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community signed

7 Jul. 2000: Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community enters into force

18 Jun. 2007: The Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Burundi accede to EAC Treaty

1 Jul. 2007: Rwanda and Burundi become full members of the EAC

KEY EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY DATES:

Area (incl. water): 1.82 million sq. km

Population: 133.1 million (2010)

GDP (current market prices): $79.2 billion (2010)

EAC Headquarters: Arusha, Tanzania

First established: 1967

Re-established: 7 July 2000

Of� cial language: English

Summit Chairperson: H.E. Mwai Kibaki

Council Chairperson: Hon. Musa Sirma

Secretary General: Amb. Richard Sezibera

The Summit:

This comprises of heads of states or government of partner states gives general direction towards the realisation of the goal and objectives of the Community.

The Council of Ministers:

Is the main decision making institution. It consists of Ministers responsible for East African Community affairs of each Partner State; such other Ministers of the Partner State as each Partner State may determine; and the Attorney General of each Partner State.

The Co-ordinating Committee:

Consists of Permanent Secretaries responsible for East African Community affairs in each Partner State and such other Permanent Secretaries of the Partner State as each Partner State may determine. It reports to the Council and it is responsible for regional co-operation and co-ordinates the activitiesof the sectoral committee.

Sectoral Committees:

conceptualise programmes and monitor their implementation. Council establishes the committees on recommendation of the respective co-ordinating committee.

The East African Court of Justice:

Ensures the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the Treaty. The East African Legislative Assembly:provides a democratic forum for debate. It has a watchdog function and also plays a part in the legislative process.

The Secretariat:

is the executive organ of the Community. As the guardian of the Treaty, it ensures that regulations and directives adopted by the Council are properly implemented.

ORGANS OF THE COMMUNITY

RWANDA


4th Floor, MINAFFET Building, KimihururaP. O. Box 267, KigaliTel: +250 252 599120Email: [email protected] Website: www.mineac.gov.rw

BURUNDI


Street 28 NovembreEx-Building de l’OMSP. O. Box 6056, BujumburaTel: +257 22259715Email: [email protected] Website: www.eac.bi

KENYA

Ministry of East African Community

16th - 19th Floor, Co-operative Bank BuildingHaile Selassie AvenueP. O. Box 8846-00200City Square, NairobiTel: +254-2025324Fax: +254-020-2229650Email: [email protected] Website: www.meac.go.ke

TANZANIA

Ministry of East African Cooperation

5th Floor, NSSF Water Front Building P. O. Box 9280, Dar es SalaamTel: +255 22 2126660Fax: +255 22 2120488Email: [email protected] Website: www.meac.go.tz

UGANDA


Postel Building67/75 Yusuf Lule RoadP. O. Box 7343, KampalaEmail: [email protected] Website: www.meaca.go.ug

The ministries responsible for EAC Affairs in the respective Partner States are your � rst point of contact on all matters EAC at Partner State level.

Below you can � nd the necessary contact details, including physical locations, of these Ministries.

The East African Legislative Assembly:

is the legislative arm of the Community that prepares, passes and inacts bills and laws. It also plays an oversight role to the executive arm of the community which is the EAC secretariat.


Mission

Vision


MINEACP.O.Box 267 Kigali-RwandaMINAFFET Buidling 4th [email protected]

A prosperous competitive, secure and politically united East Africa.

Twitter: @mineacrwanda

move freely 24hrs / 7days

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