East African Community-EAC

East African Community- EAC

The East African Community (EAC) was originally founded in 1967, dissolved in 1977, and revived with the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community (the Treaty Establishing EAC) signed in 1999 by Kenya, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania. Burundi and Rwanda became members in 2007 while South Sudan gained accession in April 2016. Underpinned by their historical links, Kenya, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania had established strong economic cooperation laying the groundwork for further political, economic and social integration of the EAC member States.

The member States of EAC are: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania.

The aim of EAC is to gradually establish among themselves a Customs Union, a Common Market, a Monetary Union, and ultimately a Political Federation of the East African States. The Treaty Establishing EAC stipulates the following principles to enhance policy harmonization and integration in the EAC region:

The attainment of sustainable growth and development of the partner States by the promotion of a more balanced and harmonious development of the partner States.
The strengthening and consolidation of cooperation in agreed fields that would lead to equitable economic development within the partner States and which would in turn, raise the standard of living and improve the quality of life of their populations.
The promotion of sustainable utilization of the natural resources and taking of measures that would effectively protect the natural environment of the partner States.
The strengthening and consolidation of the long-standing political, economic, social, cultural and traditional ties and associations between the peoples of the partner States so as to promote a people-centred mutual development of these ties and associations.
The mainstreaming of gender in all its endeavours and the enhancement of the role of women in cultural, social, political, economic and technological development.
The promotion of peace, security, and stability within, and good neighborliness among the partner States.
The enhancement and strengthening of partnerships with the private sector and civil society in order to achieve sustainable socio-economic and political development.
The undertaking of such other activities calculated to further the objectives of the community, as the partner States may from time to time decide to undertake in common.

The organizational structure of EAC consists of the following bodies:

Summit
Council of Ministers
Coordinating Committee
Sectoral Committees
East African Court of Justice
East African Legislative Assembly
Secretariat

Selected regional indicators for EAC (2014)
GDP	$159.5 billion
GDP per capita	$918
Area (sq. km)	2.5 million sq.km
Total population	168.5 million
Total imports	$40.2 billion
Total exports	$13.6 billion

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, statistical database[1]

EAC also has eight subsidiary institutions and organizations:

Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency
East African Development Bank
East African Health Research Commission
East African Kiswahili Commission
East African Science and Technology Commission
Inter-University Council for East Africa
Lake Victoria Basin Commission
Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization

EAC Pillars for Integration

Page Source: www.uneca.org Accessed: April 2020

Trade and Market Integration Macroeconomic Policy Convergence Free Movement of Persons Peace, Security, Stability and Governance Harmonisation of Sectoral Policies

Given the institutional foundations of the East African cooperation, some member States already traded with each other under the Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa. The trade and market integration processes are described under the provisions of article 5 of the Treaty Establishing EAC, stating that a Customs Union followed by a Common Market and a final culmination into an EAC Political Federation are the gradual steps of integration in the Community.

A Protocol for the Establishment of the EAC Customs Union was signed by three Heads of State – Kenya, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania – on March 2004 in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania. Rwanda and Burundi joined the Customs Union in 2008 and started applying its instruments in July 2009. In November 2009, the Heads of States signed the Protocol on the Establishment of the EAC Common Market that entered into force on July 2010 after the ratification by Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania. Member States agreed to, eliminate tariffs, remove non-tariff and technical barriers to trade; harmonize and mutually recognize standards and implement a common trade policy for EAC; and lastly, ease cross-border movement of persons and adopt an integrated border management system.Furthermore, the EAC also has a Model Investment Code that serves as a reference guide for member States to align their national investment policies in order to improve the business climate and promote trade that it adopted in 2006.

In June 2015 the EAC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agreed to establish a tripartite free trade area (TFTA). Although the Agreement has been signed, it has not yet entered into force due to outstanding technical work on tariff liberalization, rules of origin, trade remedies, and harmonization on trade-related policies. The TFTA is expected to be finalized within a year of the launching, which would effectively make it the largest free trade area in Africa and it could boost intra-regional trade by as much as one third.[1]

In March 2016, EAC adopted a road map for member States to optimize the utilization of its resources to accelerate productivity and the social wellbeing of its people, called the Vision 2050. The Vision depicts a future East Africa with cohesive societies, competitive economies, and strong inter-regional cooperation that will transform the EAC region into an upper middle-income region based on the principles of inclusiveness and accountability [2]. The TFTA will thus be instrumental in achieving the stated goals and a decisive step towards continent-wide integration.

[1] United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Tripartite Agreement could boost intra-regional trade by one third (2016) http://www.uneca.org/stories/tripartite-agreement-could-boost-intra-regi… (accessed 1 July 2016).

[2] East African Community, EAC Vision 2050 (Arusha, Tanzania, 2016)

The EAC has been carrying out comprehensive economic reforms since the 1990s in order to stimulate the growth of the private sector. One such reform has been the gradual liberalization of financial sectors and capital account mobility in order to enhance macroeconomic harmonization. Consequently, EAC member States have moved towards adopting more flexible exchange rate mechanisms. Moreover, macroeconomic policy convergence is mandated by article 83 and 84 of the Treaty establishing the EAC, which specifies the framework for macroeconomic coordination and monetary fiscal policy harmonization within the EAC.

The Protocol on the Establishment of the EAC Common Market requires member States to pursue macroeconomic policy convergence to fully benefit from a Common Market. The free movement of capital has therefore been advanced in the Protocol, which states that the harmonization in other areas of cooperation, including investment promotion and private sector development, needs to be enacted. With regard to the investment climate, the EAC Secretariat recently finished implementing the components of the Financial Sector Development and the Regionalization Project for Africa between the EAC and the World Bank on Investment Climate Programme.

The EAC is in the preparatory stages of establishing an EAC Monetary Union. In November 2013, the Heads of States and Government signed a Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Monetary Union. The critical areas of harmonization include, monetary and exchange rate policy harmonization; statistic harmonization; fiscal policy coordination and harmonization; financial market coordination; banking supervision and financial stability; harmonization of payments and settlement systems; and cohesive accounting and financial standards. EAC also made the decision to establish the East African Monetary Institute and the East African Central Bank to fulfil these goals.[1]

[1]African Union, Status of Integration in Africa IV (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2013). Available from http://www.au.int/ar/sites/default/files/SIA%202013(latest)_En.pdf.

EAC Common Market : https://www.eac.int/common-market

The free movement of persons in EAC can be traced back to the Treaty for East African Cooperation between Kenya, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania from 1967, which ensured the free movement of persons within the region as one of the key cooperation elements. Member States adopted measures to achieve the free movement of persons, labour and services, and the right of establishment and residence of their citizens in the EAC region under article 104 of the Treaty Establishing EAC (1999).[1] The official launch of the EAC passport followed in 1999 and is presently operational for EAC citizens to travel freely in the EAC region for a period of six months. Plans to have it formally adopted as an international travel document are ongoing.[2]

Migration, in the context of a Common Market, is reflected under article 104 of the Treaty Establishing EAC and in article 5 of the Protocol on the Establishment of the EAC Common Market that was adopted in 2009. The Protocol states the right of cross-border movement of persons; the adaption of integrated border management; the removal of restrictions on movement of labour and services; and the right of establishment and residence.[3] Furthermore, the harmonization of labour policies for the purposes of guaranteeing free movement of labour, as stated in article 12 of the Protocol, provides that member States harmonize labour policies, laws, and programmes to enable the free movement of labour within the EAC region.[4]

[1] EAC, Immigration and Labour. Available from http://www.eac.int/sectors/immigration-and-labour (accessed 6 May 2016).

[2] EAC, The East African Passport. Available from http://www.eac.int/travel/index.php?option=com_content&id=112-eapassport… (accessed 6 May 2016)

[3] East African Community, Immigration and Labour (Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania). Available from http://www.eac.int/sectors/immigration-and-labour (accessed 6 May 2016).

[4] East African Community, Protocol on the establishment of the East African Community Common Market (2009). Available from http://www.minecofin.gov.rw/fileadmin/templates/documents/Common_Market_… (accessed 6 May 2016).

Under article 124 of the Treaty Establishing EAC, member States agreed that peace and security are prerequisites to social and economic development within the Community and vital to the achievement of the objectives of the Community. As a result, a Peace and Security Strategy was adopted in November 2006.[1] Subsequently, the EAC adopted the Protocol on Peace and Security as well as the EAC Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Mechanism in January 2012 at the EAC joint meeting of the sectoral councils on Cooperation in Defence, Inter-state Security and Foreign Policy Coordination. The EAC Peace and Security Protocol identified over 20 objectives for fostering regional peace and security, these include, combating terrorism and piracy; peace support operations; prevention of genocide; disaster management and crisis response; management of refugees; control of proliferation of small arms and light weapons; and combating transnational and cross-border crimes.[2] The EAC Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Mechanism also include initiatives for the prevention of conflicts where early warning systems are an integral part of the peace and security workings of EAC.

Moreover, EAC has, together with the European Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), COMESA and the Indian Ocean Commission, established a regional action plan against piracy to ensure regional maritime security.[3]

[1] EAC, Overview. Available from http://eac.int/sectors/peace-and-security (accessed 6 May 2016).

[2] Others include addressing and combating cattle rustling, training programmes for security personnel, dispute settlement and regional and international cooperation in peace and security matters.

[3] http://federation.eac.int/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1… (accessed 6 May 2016).

The EAC does not explicitly refer to harmonization of sectoral policies in its treaties or protocols. Implicitly however, the protocols for the Customs Union and the Common Market both include elements where harmonization of sectoral policies fall under the “Four Freedoms” of movement, comprising the free movement of goods, labour, services, and capital. The Protocol on the Establishment of the EAC Common Market declares further harmonization and cooperation of sectoral policies in agriculture, education, science and technology, infrastructure, investment promotion and private sector development, social policies, environmental and natural resources management, and trade.[1]

With regard to infrastructure, the EAC has identified five main corridors in the Community (a total length of about 15,000 km), which constitute a strategic priority and requires rehabilitation to complete the road network in the Community. Under the High-level Standing Committee on the East African Road Network, EAC has facilitated the sector reforms, which include the formation of road boards and agencies, participation of the private sector, harmonization of regional policies and axle loads control in the road subsector. Moreover, all the member States have road fund boards and road agencies. Likewise, the EAC member States are committed to developing standard gauge rail networks to replace their narrow gauge networks. Parts of the line network have already been covered by COMESA, given the multiple memberships of some states in which the lines are passing.

Member States are also committed to harmonize civil aviation regulations in the areas of flight safety standards (personnel licensing, airworthiness and flight operations), aerodromes certification, and aviation security and air navigation services. EAC Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency is responsible for the development and provision of standardized air. As a result of common efforts in dealing with safety issues, the region was rated above the global average in terms of implementation of the critical safety elements during the International Civil Aviation Organization audits under the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme conducted in November 2008.

In regards to energy, the East African Power Master Plan was completed in May 2011 and approved in June 2011. The Power Master Plan outlines the least cost generation and the transmission programme in order to satisfy the electricity demand for 2013–2038 in the region. Following approval of the Power Master Plan, the EAC Secretariat was tasked to mobilize resources for priority projects that are critical for ensuring regional interconnectivity and enhancing power generation in the region.[2]

Given that agriculture is one of the East African region’s most important sectors, the EAC established a Food Security Action Plan, which was developed and then approved for implementation by the EAC Heads of State at its ninth extraordinary Summit held in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, on 19 April 2011. The EAC Food Security Action Plan is an ambitious plan that aims at improving food security in member States. Under the Action Plan, EAC intends to deal with issues ranging from policy, institutional and legislative issues, production and marketing, to nutritional and related matters. The Action Plan is also in line with African Unions Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme principles.[3]

Health care is another sector where EAC have an objective to harmonize policies in order to undertake joint action towards the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases. The Regional East African Community Health-Policy Initiative is an institutional mechanism designed to link health researchers with policymakers and other vital research users. The East African Public Health Laboratory Networking Project and the East African Integrated Disease Surveillance Network are also mechanisms that aim to harmonize and increase member State cooperation in the health sector. Furthermore, the EAC has a regional response to HIV and AIDS that is guided by the EAC regional Multisectoral HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan for 2008–2013. The programme was managed by the EAC Secretariat and implemented through the National AIDS Control Councils, National AIDS and sexually transmitted infection Control programmes and the Ministries of Health in member States.[4]

[1] East African Community, Common Market. Available from http://www.eac.int/integration-pillars/common-market (accessed 6 May 2016).

[2] African Union, Status of Integration in Africa IV (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2013). Available from http://www.au.int/ar/sites/default/files/SIA%202013(latest)_En.pdf.

[3] African Union, Status of Integration in Africa IV (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2013). Available from http://www.au.int/ar/sites/default/files/SIA%202013(latest)_En.pdf.

[4] African Union, Status of Integration in Africa IV (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2013). Available from http://www.au.int/ar/sites/default/files/SIA%202013(latest)_En.pdf.

For More Information

The Headquarters of EAC
EAC Close, Afrika Mashariki Road
P.O. Box 1096
Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania
Tel: +255 (0)27 216 2100
Fax: +255 (0)27 216 2190
E-mail: eac@eachq.org

Web: http://www.eac.int/

Resources

EAC e-library and resources

EAC Legal Texts and Policy Documents - TRALAC

EAC - UNECA

Latest News

Business Daily

Mystery Investor’s Purchase of Safaricom Shares Stops Plunge

News

A mid-week block purchase of Safaricom shares by an unknown local institutional investor has halted the slide in the telco’s shares that had hit a 69-month low, triggering bargain purchases. Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) data show…

The New Times

Local startups seek funding to tap into AfCFTA

There is a need for funding and enhanced access to finance for young entrepreneurs with startups so as to increase both production and quality as a way of tapping into the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA). Local…

Business Daily

IMF Projects Ethiopia, Angola Economies to Overtake Kenya

News, News Article

Kenya is set to be replaced as the third-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa by Angola and Ethiopia, weakening the East African country’s power to tap investors enticed with a population that has more cash to spend. Faster GDP growth…