The long awaited East African Community Common Market Protocol was signed yesterday afternoon in Arusha, after 18 months of sweat-breaking negotiations. The deal is meant to tie up the last knots of the regional economic integration process.

Leaders of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda signed the document in front of cheering officials from the region and development partners at the Arusha Convention Centre.

The pact whose negotiations were completed only last month in Kampala, aims to enhance free movement of people, goods and services across the regional block of 120 million people.

It also aims at the removal of all cross-border tariffs and use of Common External Tariffs (CETs) to protect the local producers against competition of cheap goods from third parties.

"It's official. The Common Market Protocol is now part and parcel of the East African integration process," declared President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania who also took over as the new chairman of the regional bloc from Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Cheers, blessings

There were cheers from the fully packed Simba Hall at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) when the five presidents descended from the rostrum to a specially arranged table to sign the document around.

And from the heavens' armpits, divine providence recognised the sacredness of the day's event with a heavy downpour that necessitated the change of venue from the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium where the signing was slated to take place in the afternoon.

Mr Kikwete said the negotiations for the pact were tough and time-consuming both to the countries' officials and leaders.

The summit which was earlier programmed to start at 11 am was delayed for more than two hours as the five presidents consulted each other.

EA officials maintained that all member countries of the regional bloc have agreed on key issues pertaining to the protocol and that the concerns of each country have been adequately addressed.

On Monday, EAC Secretary General Juma Mwapachu told reporters that the signing will take place because the negotiations, rotating in all capitals, have been "successfully concluded.

He said Tanzania, in particular, insisted on the exclusion of land, IDs and right of residency in the proposed protocol "for national interests" while other countries too had their reservations.

He, however, said Tanzania had softened on the issues and assured member states that these issues not feature any more in the subsequent trade arrangement which will bring the five states much closer economically.

Multi million complex

Later on the presidents officially inaugurated the construction of the Euro14 million new complex for EAC following a grant from the German government.

EAC is spending about $ 1 m to stage the celebrations.

Despite the fanfare associated with the event, several ordinary people in the northern Tanzania resort town feared that the signing of the agreement would make them lose their land to foreigners.

Most people interviewed admitted they were not fully aware of what the signing of the protocol would mean to them besides enhancing free movement of people and cross border trade.

Others fear that with the signing of the Common Market Protocol, foreigners would have easy access to the country vast land resources, especially around Arusha, the country's commercial farming zone.