Negotiations for implementing the East African Common Market are in final Stages and the it is supposed to be in place by January 2010. The independents Patrick Kagenda talked to Edith Kateme-Kasajja Director of the Ministry of East African Affairs on how much is covered.
The East African Community (EAC) made up of five (5) States namely Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda as stipulated in the EAC Treaty Article 5(2) is intending to enter into the Common Market as a next stage of integration. The negotiations of a Draft EAC Common Market Protocol have gone through eight (8) rounds of meetings which started in April 2008 in Kigali Rwanda.
It is gratifying that the negotiations process has yielded a large body of proposed Common Market Protocol. We have been able to cover a lot of ground with about 80% negotiated. I should also say that significant coceonsus has been built around a large number of provisions of the proposed Common Market Protocol including the following:-
1. preamble,
2. establishment of the Common Market,
3. objectives,
4. principles,
5. free movement of goods which is basically the Custom Union,
6. Free Movement of Persons,
7. Free Movement of Workers,
8. Free Movement of Capital,
9. Right of Establishment and Residence Free Movement of Services,
10. Transport Policy, Competition and Consumer Welfare,
11. Economic and Financial Sector Competition.
12. Environmental Management,
13. Common Commercial Policy,
14. Approximation of Laws,
15. Research and Technological Development,
16. Cooperation in Statistics, and
17. Common Social Policy.
We still have a few issues regarding some of the areas already negotiated but these will be discussed and negotiated at our next meeting in Burundi on 2nd -11th March 2009. Recently the HLTF was in Kisumu to negotiate the provisions on the institutional framework for implementing the Common Market. We however, realized that it could not be possible for us to conclude negotiations on these provisions without further research. The HLTF therefore agreed to recommend to the Council that a comprehensive study which will include an assessment of the capacity of the current structure of the EAC, identify the gaps and make appropriate recommendations be undertaken by a regional Consultant supported by 3 experts from each Partner States. The intention of the HLTF is to get an institutional framework that will better implement the Common Market.
After all that what is the next big thing coming up?
We are going for more negotiations that will take place in Bujumbura, Burundi on 2nd – 11th March 2009. At this meeting we will still negotiate outstanding issues, consider Agriculture (Crops, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry), Industrialization, Safeguard Measures, Measure to address imbalances, Schedules on Trade in Services and Annexes on Macro-economic Convergence and on free movement of Capital. If time allows we will also consider interpretations of some of the words already used in the Draft EAC Common Market Protocol.
I must also add that the Protocol will be accompanied by Directives and Regulations. These too need to be negotiated. We will try to negotiate the Directives and Regulations in Bujumbura Meeting. MEACA has already forwarded the Draft Directives and Regulations to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for their Comments.
The other big thing to happen is that as a region, we have recognized that there is need to create awareness about the Common Market Protocol Negotiations. At the National Level we believe that public awareness has not been very well handled as we would have wished. Of course we have managed to interface with some sections of the population. We now wish to go out starting with the Public Sector where forums for Permanent Secretaries, Ministers, Parliamentarians and Technocrats are to be organized with the sole purpose of explaining what the Common Market is, why the Common Market, the benefits of the Common Market and the Progress achieved in the negotiations. This is because we know that with the coming into force of the Common Market; a lot will change in the way business is done in Uganda. This means that even the way Sectors of our economy are organized will change.
We wish to inform Ugandans that there is need to re-organize our Sectors so that they are well prepared to reap benefits from the Common Market. The question to ask is whether Stakeholders take a moment to analyze their Sectors so that actions are taken to set a base to embrace the Common Market.
We would like to get to a level where we shall tell Ugandans that a Common Market is an inevitable stage in the integration process and we should prepare ourselves to benefit from the big market space where everybody goes and shops, sells, demands and by so doing enjoy life and improve his/her incomes.
Won’t the free movement of Services Create a Labour drift to one end even in the Public Secrice?
I wish to say at the outset that free movement of workers will not affect the Public Service. The HLTF has agreed that the dynamics in the Public Service should be left as a domain of each Partner State.
Free movement of Labour will be requested but will be free especially when the Partner States recognize a wide variety of each others Professional Qualifications. Labour will not just move for the sake of it. Like now we would have experienced an influx already but it is not the case. So we should not worry about a shift in labour towards one end.
East Africa has very many bodies regulating infrastructure, where do they go when the common market comes into effect?
We have discussed this issue and negotiated some provisions within the EAC Common Market Protocol. As an EAC we have recognized that transport is key and for us to enjoy the benefits of the Common Market the loopholes in the Transport Sector need to be addressed. We would like to work as a region to address these loopholes, harmonize our actions, and mobilize financial resources to develop our infrastructure.
We aim at having a regional Common Transport Policy which provides adequate, reliable, safe and internationally competitive infrastructure modes/services for the development and consolidation of the EAC Common Market. This will be in line with the EAC Treaty. We want to work together and solve issues as a region because no one country can do it alone.
Aren’t investments going to concentrate in one area due to proximity to the sea?
The Common Market is to create a big market, and when that big market comes, it will come with its 120 million people. Many Ugandans have expressed this fear of investment remaining in Kenya where infrastructure is good. By the way this is not going to happen because we will approximate laws so that an investor is not disadvantaged in any of the Partner States. The investor will come and have a choice to make where he wants to invest since the investment environment will be uniform. We don’t think investment will concentrate in one area. We have tried to make sure that balancing will come as there will be no restrictions to movement of capital.
The region manufacturer’s similar commodities, what happens when we become a Common Market are we to see zoning come up?
I can’t talk about that because we have not analyzed it yet but as an economist I think once you start flooding the market, it is demand and supply that will play the tune. I think that once that happens and you are faced with a challenge which forces one to look for alternatives. Last year there was the 1st Tripartite Summit of COMESA/SADC/EAC. Processes have started which will result in cooperating at this level. The aim is to widen the market so that citizens can enjoy the benefit that accrues from large populations. Of course this requires that one has something to sell or buy.
What about the Land Issue?
We have been guided that issues of land are at the moment very complicated and in this regard we agreed that National Policy and Laws of individual Partner States will apply to the Land matters under the Common Market.
After the Common Market what comes next?
The next stage in the integration process is the Monetary Union which could mean one EAC currency. Even at this stage we shall still negotiate and eventually a political federation is the ultimate aim. Remember the World is no longer a one mans place and integration is the only way forward.
How informed is the Ordinary Ugandan or the EAC?
The ordinary Ugandan may not be informed as today. Our plan is that the Ministry is developing an outreach programme that we want to sell to the District Councils in the country and see how we can work together to reach out to the people at the grass roots. Our plan is to request the District Councils to allow us to cooperate with them by slotting the item of Common Market on their Agenda for their meetings. We will then join them and explain what we are doing and hope they too can explain to the people at lower levels. We may not be able to reach each and every individual in the country.
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written by François, March 05, 2009
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written by Major Adam Kifaliso, November 22, 2009
have kikuyus united with Luos in Kenya or m7 's westerners who eating with the rest of uganda which is
eating , EAU is bulls******, we need to be united from home first !
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