East African Business Week (Kampala)
Bobi Odiko
6 October 2008
opinion
Finally, something positive is cooking up the sleeves of regional integration. Reports from Burundi indicate a raft of agreements touching on the issue of Rights of Residence was arrived at during the just ended EAC meeting on the draft Protocol of the EAC Common Market in Bujumbura recently.
Tanzania is reliably understood to have lifted the lid off objections it raised to various clauses contained within the draft Protocol, whose discussions is often described as nearing "sensitive".
According to media reports attributed to Tanzania's Deputy Minister of the EAC, Hon, Mohamed Aboud, non Tanzanians of the EAC Partner States are now free to settle in the country provided they are engaged in the meaningful economic activities and employment.
However, there are still a number of delicate areas, and land is mentioned as one of the issues with a propensity to stall the speed of negotiations. Tanzania is reportedly keen for now, to keep land for its nationals only, with a caveat to allow ownership and accessibility only to would be- serious non national investors. This is to stay others who are landless in their respective Partner States at bay.
That last bit aside, in the wider picture, the about turn means a climb-down from the hitherto hard stance taken by Tanzania over the matter, during earlier deliberations by the High Level Task force (HLTF). This is certainly an emphatic score for the EAC and delighting piece of news for all citizens of the region at this significant stage of discussions.
Ideally put, regional integration calls for a deliberate and fully informed process. It is a difficult progression and one has to work on it in a clued-up manner.
Theoretically, the success of regional integration should be based on formative factors such as political will, the respect to rule of law, and strategy. It is a given that ceding of sovereignty including issues close to the heart and souls of Partner States needs time and consultations.
This is regardless of the fact that all Partner States appended their signatures to the very Treaty establishing the EAC thus giving their undertaking to implement ensuing provisions.
The Treaty is concise as is sacrosanct. The preamble of the EAC Treaty alludes to the desire by the Partner States to foster and to promote greater awareness of the shared interests of their people. It further emphasises the determined bid by the Partner States to strengthen economic, social, cultural and other ties that ultimately lead to an East African political federation.
In general, abiding by the rule of consensus is good for the region. Fuller integration is dimmed to bring with it various benefits including opening of markets and competitiveness which is healthy, viable and feasible.
It must be stated here and now that the on-going discussions on the Protocol is for all purposes and shall remain as emotive. Inevitably, there shall be interests that need to be guarded as all Partner States have their priority needs in the integration process.
But in pursuance of the provisions of the Treaty, Partner States should inculcate the necessary steps, undertake due processes, and institute all necessary legal instruments to ensure the course of action succeeds. The ceding of ground and "give and take" principle should if at all possible, supersede all others. . But the other side of the divide also holds.
There is need to harmonise wide and far reaching implications of national laws and policies including that on immigration and rights of establishment. This may take a while and hours on ends to realise.
It is my opinion that the Summit -which is the highest organ of the EAC continues to supremely encourage all to embrace fully, the tenets and steps leading to a unified EAC. Openness and sincerity is as fundamental.
With it, comes the need for the negotiating parties to tread carefully. Ultimately, the determination to negotiate and reach consensus on the very issues that touch the lives of the 120 million citizens or so is of absolute importance.
The writer comments on socio-economic issues and is based in Arusha
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