Kampala — Uganda's insistence on the planned use of the chemical DDT to fight malaria could potentially split the East African Community (EAC), a local business leader has said.

The East African customs union protocol that came into effect, in January 2005 spells out DDT as one of the banned chemicals that should not be used in the EAC.

The three East African countries share common natural resources like, Lake Victoria and a host of other rivers and water bodies.

While speaking to the communications, trade and investment (CTI) committee of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) recently, the vice chairman of the Uganda Importers, Exporters and Traders Association (UGIETA) said that states must be willing to harmonise policies.

"Harmonization means you have to give up something for the good of the community. If everybody insists on standing in their position, that is not harmonisation. Politicians collapsed the last EAC, this too can collapse," Mr. Edmund Bagumira, told EALA members at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kampala recently.

The legislators were in the country to solicit opinions, views and ideas from different stake holders on the status and way forward regarding the EAC common market protocol.

However, a senior scientist and proponent of DDT disagreed with Mr. Bagumira's assertion. Dr. Samson Kibende (PhD), the director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre in Kampala, said last Friday that the use of DDT would check the 320 deaths a day caused by malaria.

Kibende said the malaria burden on the economy accounts for close to US$700million a year due to cost of treatment with drugs and loss of manhours of the sick to businesses.

Kibende added that 11 African countries use DDT including South Africa and Ethiopia and still export to the EU market.

A Ugandan Member of Parliament and researcher on malaria Gen. Elly Tumwine told Business Week on phone that the decision by the Customs Union to list DDT as a banned drug was done in ignorance and not researched.

It is envisioned that the common market will be a union of the East African member states to form one common territory in which there will be free movement of goods, labour, services and capital.

Kampala was their last stop having previously visited various stakeholders in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

In Uganda, the legislators interacted with leaders in finance and capital, manufacturing and trade, media and communication, relevant government ministries and civil society.

Still on harmonisation, Mr. Bagumira said that if tax regimes among the three member states of the EAC are not harmonized, traders from one country will have undue advantage over those in another country.

This would lead to unfair competition and traders within the EAC region will therefore not compete on a level playing field due to conflicting tax rates and Value Added Tax (VAT).

"We have different tariff regimes. Who puts in place these tariff regimes? It is the Government, we should stop dragging our feet. Each partner state has an element of impunity," Bagumira said.

On the unification of East Africa, he said that for the region to become one territory, images of commonality needed to be in existence.

This stretches from political systems to manufacturing abilities and tax structures. He wondered whether unification was coming from the local people or it was just being forced down the throats of the locals by the leaders.

The chairman of the CTI committee, Dr .George Nangale (Tanzania) conceded that there was not adequate planning before the roll out of the EAC Customs Union protocol in January 2005.

"The Customs Union should be people centred and private sector driven."

On the down side, one of the EALA legislators decried the low turn up of stake holders from Uganda for the one week public hearing at the ministry. He said it was such defaults that lead to poor implementation.

"In Kenya and Tanzania all the stakeholders showed up, but here, people have not shown interest," he said.