H.E Yoweri Museveni         Photo courtesy

It is now 10 years since Presidents Moi, Mwinyi and Myself revived the EAC after its collapse in 1977. The idea of a Common Trade was not a colonial invention or new. Excavations at Ntutsi in Uganda have shown that glass beads (enkwanzi) and cowrie shells (ensimbi) were in common use in Uganda at that time – 900 AD.

Where were they coming from? Uganda was not manufacturing glass beads nor did we have an ocean out of which we could extract cowrie shells. I am told that glass beads were being imported from Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). Both items were certainly being imported from Zanzibar through Bagamoyo, Dodoma and Tabora.

Up to today, you get names in Uganda such as Karunganwa. This was in reference to Balunganwa – long distance Wanyamwezi traders and other Swahili people who were calling themselves: “Waungwana” – freed slaves or something like that. The Ugandans corrupted the word “Waungwaaa” into Balungaanwa. This common trading area extended all the way to the Congo River at Nyangwe. Our people got textiles (emyenda, engoye) from the Coast. They also got guns and gunpowder (obuganga) from the Coast.

In exchange, they sent ivory (emiino, amasanga) to the Coast. Unfortunately, some of the Chiefs were also sending slaves. Out of Congo (Buleega), we bought copper bracelets (emiringa) and amooshe (neck wears made out of giraffe tails). This was as Common Trade Area and not a Free Trade Area because the Chiefs along the way would extort “hongo” (some sort of tax) from the traders.

Colonialism, therefore, interfered with the trading activities of our people. Even the EAC of today does not cover the whole pre-colonial trading of this part of Africa. The new element the British brought and what we restored in 1991 was the element of abolishing “hongo” – the taxes between Kingdoms and Chiefdoms, in our case between the modern States.

This dream of the East Africans has done very well in the last 10 years. Prior to the Customs Union launch, total intra EAC Trade was USD $1811.8 Million in 2004; and in 2009 the total intra EAC trade was USD$3547.7 (Source EAC Facts and Figures 2010).

We have now implemented the Customs Union which means that we have common external tariff for goods from third party countries, reduced non-tariff barriers and no import duty on goods produced and traded within the region. We are now aiming at the Monetary Union which means that a single currency becomes ‘the language’ of trade. The monetary and fiscal policy discipline built in a Monetary Union anchors inflation and its expectation and hence entrenches macroeconomic stability. It also ensures significant reduction of exchange rate volatility and associated risks within the region. These are very important steps for which I congratulate the East Africans.

Among the Regional Integration Blocs of Africa, however, EAC is unique in one aspect. I think it is the only Trading Bloc that aims at both Economic and Political Integration. Article 5 (2) of the EAC Treaty says:

“…in pursuance of the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Partner State undertake to establish among themselves and in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty, a Customs Union, a Common Market, subsequently a Monetary Union and ultimately a Political Federation in order to strengthen and regulate the industrial, commercial, infrastructural, cultural, social, political and other relations of the Partner States to the end that there shall be accelerated, harmonious and balanced development and sustained expansion of economic activities, the benefit of which shall be equitably shared.”

It does not only aim at the Economic Integration. It aims at the Political Integration of the East African peoples. As you can see, the Treaty talks of “ultimately” forming a Political Federation.

The following were the reasons why we thought that the process should be fast-tracked:

Economic integration, without political integration, is slow. When you are coordinating several sovereign units, it is bound to be slower than when you are planning for one unit.

Secondly, it will take longer for the benefits of integration to spread around the community evenly. To take one example, freedom of movement of labour will take long to be realized if at all. Yet employment creation is one of the greatest gains in an Economic Community area. An Economic Community integrates the market. A bigger market supports production units (factories, etc) better. It is a more attractive foreign investment destination. Employment creation is one of the benefits. Nevertheless, freedom of movement of labour comes quite late in the day if at all. In one sovereign unit, even when there is unbalanced growth, there are mitigating factors because employment opportunities are equally accessible to all citizens. Revenue from production units is also accessible to all citizens of the sovereign units irrespective of how developed or otherwise their home region is.

Although we are now members of EAC, most of the time we do not negotiate together for African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA), or while negotiating with IMF, World Bank, Paris Club, etc. Uganda negotiating alone is much weaker than would be the situation if we were negotiating as East Africa.

There is a lot of duplication of effort with each county trying to attract investment in similar sectors:- textiles, fruits and others. If East Africa is one country (one sovereign unit), it will not matter if all the textile factories are concentrated in Mombasa which is near the coast but using Uganda cotton. As long as we are five political units, we shall continue to waste energy with parallel efforts instead of coordinated ones. An economic community pulls markets together. It does not, however, solve easily the question of equitable distribution of benefits.

Continuing to inconvenience communities that were split by Colonialism such as the Tesos, Samia, Pokot, Bagisu, (Luhya), Karimojong, Turkana, Luo, Kuria of Msoma and the other side of Kenya, Masai, Wadigo, Banyankole-Bahaya-Banyambo, Banyarwanda etc. Families are split as well as cultural units.

It also splits our consciousness. Instead of thinking of ourselves as one, we are continuing to think of ourselves as Ugandans, Tanzanians, Kenyans, Rwandese or Burundians.

The pseudo-borders incapacitate us when it comes to giving each other support on account of the sovereignty ropes that tie us into different political bundles. We cannot assist directly the people of Burundi because of these “Sovereign ropes.” Instead, it is the UN that comes to help. Yet the UN does not have the requisite knowledge or commitment. Hence, the problem takes much longer than the case would be if East Africa would be one political unit.

While in an Economic Community you will integrate the market, the use of natural resources is not that easily integrated. Turkana in Kenya is very dry. Neighbouring Karamoja in Uganda, while also dry, is much more hospitable. Yet Turkana are always reminded that they are not “Ugandans” never mind that their dialect is 98% similar to the Karimojong dialects. Since people are forced to be imprisoned in these “sovereign units,” they are forced to worsen the environment with their goats and camels destroying the sparse population. If they stopped using these dry areas for cattle and crops, they could be wonderful for tourism that would benefit all of us. Given the balkanization of the Continent, however, the Turkana are forced to stay in that area because that is where their “home” is. Yet our ecology does respect these sovereign units. If rain is scarce on account of environmental abuse, because people are forced to stay in their “homestead” the adverse conditions notwithstanding, that weather change will not respect the sovereign units.

By HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
President of The Republic of Uganda