East African Community

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East African Community
  • Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki  (Swahili)
Nine horizontal strips coloured (from top to bottom): blue, white, black, green, yellow, green, red, white, then blue. The logo of the EAC is placed in the centre. Logo of East African Community Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki  (Swahili)
Flag Logo
Motto: "One People One Destiny"
Anthem: EAC Anthem
An orthographic projection of the world, highlighting the East African Community's Member States (green).
An orthographic projection of the world, highlighting the East African Community's Member States (green).
Headquarters Arusha
Largest city Dar es Salaam
Official languages Swahili, English
Lingua Franca Swahili
Type Intergovernmental
Members
5 states
Leaders
 •  Summit Chairperson Tanzania John Magufuli
 •  Council Chairperson Tanzania Augustine Mahiga
 •  EACJ President Tanzania Harold Nsekela
 •  EALA Speaker Uganda Daniel Kidega
 •  Secretary General Rwanda Richard Sezibera
Legislature EALA
Establishment
 •  First established 1967 
 •  Dissolved 1977 
 •  Re-established 7 July 2000 
Area
 •  Total 1,820,664 km2 (17th a)
702,962 sq mi
 •  Water (%) 5.6
Population
 •  2014 estimate 153,301,178[1] a (9th)
 •  Density 84.2/km2
218.1/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate
 •  Total US$ 297.791 billion[2] (51sta)
 •  Per capita US$ 1,942 a
GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate
 •  Total US$ 122.672 billion (61sta)
 •  Per capita US$ 800 a
Currency <templatestyles src="Template:Hidden begin/styles.css"/>
5 Currenciesb
To be replaced by the East African shilling
Burundi Franc BIF
Kenya Shilling KES
Rwanda Franc RWF
Tanzania Shilling TZS
Uganda Shilling UGX
Time zone CAT / EAT (UTC+2 / +3)
Website
www.eac.int
a. If considered as a single entity.
b. To be replaced by the East African shilling

The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of five countries in the African Great Lakes region in eastern Africa: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. John Magufuli, the president of Tanzania, is the EAC's chairman. The organisation was founded originally in 1967, collapsed in 1977, and was revived on 7 July 2000.[3] In 2008, after negotiations with the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the EAC agreed to an expanded free trade area including the member states of all three organizations. The EAC is an integral part of the African Economic Community.

The EAC is a potential precursor to the establishment of the East African Federation, a proposed federation of its members into a single sovereign state. In 2010, the EAC launched its own common market for goods, labour, and capital within the region, with the goal of creating a common currency and eventually a full political federation.[4] In 2013 a protocol was signed outlining their plans for launching a monetary union within 10 years.[5]

The geographical region encompassed by the EAC covers an area of 1,820,664 square kilometres (702,962 sq mi), with a combined population of about 149,959,317[1] (2013 est.)[6]

History

From left to right: President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, and President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania during the eighth EAC summit in Arusha, November 2006.

Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have a history of co-operation dating back to the early 20th century. The customs union between Kenya and Uganda in 1917, which the then Tanganyika joined in 1927, was followed by the East African High Commission (EAHC) from 1948 to 1961, the East African Common Services Organization (EACSO) from 1961 to 1967, and the 1967 to 1977 EAC.[7] Burundi and Rwanda joined the EAC on 6 July 2009.[8]

Inter-territorial co-operation between the Kenya Colony, the Uganda Protectorate, and the Tanganyika Territory was first formalised in 1948 by the EAHC. This provided a customs union, a common external tariff, currency, and postage. It also dealt with common services in transport and communications, research, and education. Following independence, these integrated activities were reconstituted and the EAHC was replaced by the EACSO, which many observers thought would lead to a political federation between the three territories. The new organisation ran into difficulties because of the lack of joint planning and fiscal policy, separate political policies, and Kenya's dominant economic position. In 1967, the EACSO was superseded by the EAC. This body aimed to strengthen the ties between the members through a common market, a common customs tariff, and a range of public services to achieve balanced economic growth within the region.[9]

In 1977, the EAC collapsed after ten years. Causes for the collapse included demands by Kenya for more seats than Uganda and Tanzania in decision-making organs,[10] disagreements with Ugandan dictator Idi Amin who demanded that Tanzania as a member state of the EAC should not harbor forces fighting to topple a government of another member state, and the disparate economic systems of socialism in Tanzania and capitalism in Kenya.[11] The three member states lost over sixty years of co-operation and the benefits of economies of scale, although some Kenyan government officials celebrated the collapse with champagne.[12]

Later, Presidents Moi of Kenya, Mwinyi of Tanzania, and Museveni of Uganda signed the Treaty for East African Co-operation in Arusha, Tanzania, on 30 November 1993 and established a Tri-partite Commission for Co-operation. A process of re-integration was embarked on involving tripartite programmes of co-operation in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research and technology, defence, security, and legal and judicial affairs.

The EAC was finally revived on 30 November 1999, when the treaty for its re-establishment was signed. It came into force on 7 July 2000, 23 years after the total collapse of the defunct erstwhile community and its organs. A customs union was signed in March 2004, which commenced on 1 January 2005. Kenya, the region's largest exporter, continued to pay duties on goods entering the other four countries on a declining scale until 2010. A common system of tariffs will apply to goods imported from third-party countries.

Political dimensions

It has been argued, perhaps humorously, that the key drivers for Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania are that Kenya wishes to export surplus capital, Uganda seeks an outlet for its surplus labour, and Tanzania wants to realise a Pan-African vision.[13] It has also been argued, however, that the commonalities go far deeper. Many of the national elites old enough to remember the former EAC often share memories and a sharp sense of loss at its eventual dissolution.[13] More cynically, others have argued that this historical ambition potentially provides politicians with the ability to present themselves as statesmen and representatives of a greater regional interest.[13] Furthermore, EAC institutions bring significant new powers to dispose and depose to those who serve in them.[13]

Some have questioned the extent to which the visions of a political union are shared outside the elite and the relatively elderly, arguing that the youthful mass of the population is not well informed about the process in any of the countries.[13] Others have pointed to an enhanced sense of East African identity developing from modern communications.[13] Commitment to the formal EAC idea is relatively narrow, in both social and generational terms, and thus many have questioned the timetable for the project. Fast-tracking political union was first discussed in 2004 and enjoyed a consensus among the three presidents of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.[13] Thus, a high-level committee headed by Amos Wako of Kenya was commissioned to investigate the possibility of speeding integration so as to achieve political federation sooner than previously visualised.[13] Yet, there have been concerns that rapid changes would allow popular reactionary politics against the project.[13] There has been an argument, however, that there are high costs that would be required at the beginning and that fast-tracking the project would allow the benefits to be seen earlier.[13]

There remain significant political differences between the states. Museveni's success in obtaining his third-term amendment raised doubts in the other countries.[13] The single-party dominance in the Tanzanian and Ugandan parliaments is unattractive to Kenyans, while Kenya's ethnic-politics remains absent in Tanzania.[13] Rwanda has a distinctive political culture with a political elite committed to building a developmental state, partly to safeguard the Tutsi group against a return to ethnic violence.[13]

Other problems involve states being reluctant to relinquish involvement in other regional groups, e.g., Tanzania's withdrawal from COMESA but staying within the SADC bloc for the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations with the European Union.[13] Many Tanzanians are also concerned because creating a common market means removing obstacles to the free movement of both labour and capital.[13] Free movement of labour may be perceived as highly desirable in Uganda and Kenya, and have important developmental benefits in Tanzania; however, in Tanzania there is widespread resistance to the idea of ceding land rights to foreigners, including citizens of Kenya and Uganda.[13]

Informal polls have indicate that most Tanzanians (80 percent) have an unfavorable view of the East African Federation.[14] Tanzania has more land than all the other EAC nations combined, and some Tanzanians fear landgrabs by the current residents of the other EAC member nations.[15][16][17]

Expansion

In 2010, Tanzanian officials expressed interest in inviting Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia to join the EAC. Malawian Foreign Affairs Minister Etta Banda said, however, that there were no formal negotiations taking place concerning Malawian membership.[18]

South Sudan

The presidents of Kenya and Rwanda invited the Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan to apply for membership upon the independence of South Sudan in 2011,[19][20] and South Sudan was reportedly an applicant country as of mid-July 2011.[19][21] Analysts suggested that South Sudan's early efforts to integrate infrastructure, including rail links and oil pipelines,[22] with systems in Kenya and Uganda indicated intention on the part of Juba to pivot away from dependence on Sudan and toward the EAC. Reuters considers South Sudan the likeliest candidate for EAC expansion in the short term,[23] and an article in Tanzanian daily The Citizen that reported East African Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdirahin Haithar Abdi said South Sudan was "free to join the EAC" asserted that analysts believe the country will soon become a full member of the regional body.[24]

On 17 September 2011, the Daily Nation quoted a South Sudanese MP as saying that while his government was eager to join the EAC, it would likely delay its membership over concerns that its economy was not sufficiently developed to compete with EAC member states and could become a "dumping ground" for Kenyan, Tanzanian, and Ugandan imports.[25] This was contradicted by President Salva Kiir, who announced South Sudan had officially embarked on the application process one month later.[26] The application was initially deferred by the EAC in December 2012,[27] however incidents with Ugandan boda-boda operators in South Sudan have created political tension and may delay the process.[28]

In December 2012, Tanzania officially agreed to South Sudan’s bid to join the EAC, clearing the way for the world’s newest state to become the regional bloc’s sixth member.[29] In May 2013 The EAC set aside $82,000 for the admission of South Sudan into the bloc even though admission may not happen until 2016. The process, to start after the EAC Council of Ministers meeting in August 2013, was projected to take at least four years. At the 14th Ordinary Summit held in Nairobi in 2012, EAC heads of state approved the verification report that was presented by the Council of Ministers, then directed it to start the negotiation process with South Sudan.[30]

A team was formed to assess South Sudan's bid; however, in April 2014, the nation requested a delay in the admissions process, presumably due to ongoing internal conflict.[31][32]

South Sudan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, claimed publicly in October 2015 that, following evaluations and meetings of a special technical committee in May, June, August, September and October, the committee has recommended that South Sudan be allowed to join the East African Community. Those recommendations, however, have not been officially released to the public. South Sudan could be admitted as early as November 2015 when the heads of East African States have their summit meeting.[33]

Sudan

Sudan applied to join the EAC, but its membership is strongly opposed by Tanzania and Uganda. They contend that because of Sudan's lack of a direct border with the EAC, its allegedly discriminatory actions toward black Africans, its record of human rights violations, and its history of hostilities with both Uganda and candidate country South Sudan, it is ineligible to join.[34] Sudan's application was rejected by the EAC in December 2011.[35]

Somalia

Representatives of Somalia applied for membership in the EAC in March 2012.[36] The application was considered by the EAC Heads of State in December 2012, which requested that the EAC Council work with Somalia to verify their application.[37][38] In February 2015, the EAC again deliberated on the matter but deferred a decision as verification had not yet started nor had preparations with the government of Somalia been finalized.[39]

Panorama

Dar es Salaam, the East African Community's most populous city.

Demographics

As of July 2014, the combined population of all five EAC member states was 153,301,178. The EAC would have the 10th largest population in the world, if considered a single entity.


Largest population centres of East African Community
National Bureau of Statistics (Tanzania) CIA Factbook Open Data Kenya
Rank City name State Pop. Rank City name State Pop.
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam

Nairobi
Nairobi

 1 Insigne incognitum.svg Dar es Salaam Tanzania 4,364,541 11 Mbeya Tanzania 385,279 Kampala
Kampala

Kigali
Kigali
2 Insigne incognitum.svg Nairobi Kenya 3,768,000 12 Juba South Sudan 321,000
3 Insigne incognitum.svg Kampala Uganda 1,659,600 13 Morogoro Tanzania 315,866
4 Insigne incognitum.svg Kigali Rwanda 1,135,428 14 Nakuru Kenya 307,990
5 Insigne incognitum.svg Mombasa Kenya 1,068,000 15 Eldoret Kenya 289,380
6 Insigne incognitum.svg Bujumbura Burundi 800,000 16 Tanga Tanzania 273,332
7 Insigne incognitum.svg Mwanza Tanzania 706,543 17 Kehancha Kenya 256,086
8 Insigne incognitum.svg Arusha Tanzania 416,442 18 Kahama Tanzania 242,208
9 Insigne incognitum.svg Dodoma Tanzania 410,956 19 Ruiru Kenya 238,858
10 Insigne incognitum.svg Kisumu Kenya 409,928 20 Kikuyu Kenya 233,231


The EAC contains 5 cities with populations of over one million, the largest being Dar es Salaam. Kampala is the largest urban centre located on Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world and Mwanza coming in second and Kisumu third.

Lake Victoria, Kenya panorama

The East African Community's current urban population stands at 19.26% and the rate of urbanisation at an average of 4.71%.

№ Country Population GDP (PPP)
(Billions of $US)		 GDP (Nominal)
(Billions of $US)		 Literacy (%)
1.  Burundi 10,395,931 7.884 2.723 67.2
2.  Kenya 45,010,056 125.77 55.3 87.4
3.  Rwanda 12,337,138 17.362 7.431 71.1
4.  Tanzania 49,639,138 84.884 42.3 67.8
5.  Uganda 35,918,915 61.891 22.926 73.2
East African Community 153,301,178 297.791 122.672 73.34

Languages





Circle frame.svg

Religions in the EAC

  Christianity (76.04%)
  Islam (14.06%)
  Other/Unspecified (4.66%)
  Animism (3.9%)
  No religion (1%)
  Indigenous religion (.34%)

Although one of the official languages of the EAC is English, Swahili is spoken throughout the African Great Lakes region and is also official. Swahili is a Bantu language, with some vocabulary derived (about 15%) from Arabic due to trading between Arabs and local Bantu populations on the coast. The remaining lexicon is mainly derived from Coastal Bantu languages. At first the Swahili language used the Arabic script, but it now uses the Latin script as a result of colonisation. In the EAC, there are two countries whose official language is French: Rwanda and Burundi. Numerous local languages are spoken: for example, there are 56 local languages spoken in Uganda[40] and 42 local languages in Kenya. Kinyarwanda is spoken in Rwanda as well as Uganda.[41] There are some native speakers of Arabic on the Zanzibar Island of Tanzania.[42] In Kenya and Uganda, the medium of instruction in all schools is English. It is rare to find people who speak fewer than two languages in the East African Community [43]

Economy

Transport

Currently, Mombasa has the East African Community's busiest port.[44] However, the construction of a new port in Kenya, known as the Lamu Port is underway. It is expected to cost US$22 billion. Upon completion, the Bagamoyo port under construction in Tanzania will be the largest in Africa, with a capacity to handle 20 million cargo containers a year [1].

Africa's largest airport terminal is also under construction in Nairobi. Known as the Greenfield Terminal, it will be capable of handling 20 million passengers a year. The estimated cost is 55 billion Kenyan shillings (US$654 million).[45]

Business and finance

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See also: List of companies and organisations based in Nairobi
Nairobi, East Africa's business hub

Even though Dar es Salaam has a larger population, Nairobi would be considered the business, finance and transport hub in the EAC. The East Africa Community's largest firms are headquartered in the city, including the region's largest carrier Kenya Airways, the region's largest media house the Nation Media Group and the Kenya Commercial Bank Group, the EAC's largest financial conglomerate. Most multinational firms (including Google, Coca Cola and Toyota) have their regional headquarters in Nairobi including UNEP which is the forth UN Office in the world as well as the only UN office located in Africa, or any developing country. Nairobi is also home to the Nairobi Securities Exchange the largest within the EAC. The exchange is Africa's 4th largest in terms of trading volumes, and 5th largest in terms of Market Capitalization as a percentage of GDP.[46] Nairobi's JKIA is the East Africa Community's busiest aviation hub it handles about 5-6 million passengers a year.

Economic dimensions

Importance of the customs union

The key aspects of the customs union include:[13]

  1. a Common External Tariff (CET) on imports from third countries;
  2. duty-free trade between the member states; and
  3. common customs procedures.

Different rates are applied for raw materials (0%), intermediate products (10%) and finished goods (25%), the latter percentage is fixed as the maximum.[13] This represents a significance decrease from what was previously the maximum in Kenya (35%), Tanzania (40%) and Uganda (15%).[13] However, this customs union is not yet fully implemented, because there is a significant list of exclusions to the Common External Tariff and tariff-free movement of goods and services.[13] Technical work is also needed to harmonise and modernise the customs procedures in the EAC's major ports of entry.[13]

The expected revenue benefits are understood to be minimal by many analysts, based on comparative-static simulation exercises demonstrating the one-off impacts of the immediate introduction of the CU's full tariff package.[13] The findings suggest an increase in intraregional trade that is largely the result of trade diversion, not trade creation, with some aggregate welfare benefits in Kenya and Tanzania but welfare losses in Uganda.[13] From a trade-integration perspective, the EAC may not be the best chosen unit, because the current trade between the three countries is small compared to their external trade, and the EAC's 105 million citizens do not represent a large market in global terms, given the very low average incomes.[13]

Emerging business trends

Business leaders are far more positive than economists about the benefits of EAC integration, its customs union as a step in the process, as well as the wider integration under COMESA.[13] The larger economic players perceive long-term benefits in a progressively expanding regional market.[13] Pattern of regional development are already emerging, including:[13]

  • Kenyan firms have successfully aligned to the lower protection afforded by the EAC CET and fears that firms would not adjust to a 25% maximum CET, or would relocate to Tanzania or Uganda have not been realised.
  • An intraregional division of labour is developing that results in basic import-processing relocating to the coast to supply the hinterland. The final stages of import-processing (especially those bulky finished goods that involve high transportation costs) and natural-resource based activities, are moving up-country and up-region, either within value chains of large companies or different segments located by firms in different countries.
  • Trade in goods and services has already increased as service provision to Kenyans and Tanzanians is already important for Uganda (in education and in health). Kenya exports financial services, for example via the Kenya Commercial Bank and purchase and upgrading of local operators in Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan. Uganda hopes integration will help support its tourism potential through integration with established regional circuits.
  • There are signs a business culture oriented to making profits through economics of scale and not on protectionism.

Trade negotiations

The EAC negotiates with trade partners on behalf of all member countries. Negotiations in 2014 for an EU-EAC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) ran into difficulties with the January 2014 negotiating session failing to conclude the negotiations, which were scheduled to be completed before 1 October 2014. This caused tensions between Kenya and other countries as Kenya, which is not a Least Developed Country, stood to lose most from the failure to reach agreement.[47] Discussions are also under way between the EAC and the USA on the launch of Trade and Investment Partnership (TIP) negotiations.[48]

Poverty reduction

EAC economies have large informal sectors, unintegrated with the formal economy and large business.[13] The concerns of large-scale manufacturing and agro-processing concerns are not broadly shared by the bulk of available labour.[13] Research suggest the promised investments on the conditions of life of the region's overwhelmingly rural poor will be slight, with the significant exception of agro-industrial firms with out-grower schemes or that otherwise contribute to the co-ordination of smallholder production and trade.[13]

It is informal trade across borders that is most often important to rural livelihoods and a customs union is unlikely to significantly impact the barriers that this faces and taxes are still being fixed separately by countries.[13] However, the introduction of one-stop border posts being introduced and the reduction in tariff barriers are coming down progressively.[13]

The establishment of a common market will create both winners (numerous food producers and consumers on both sides of all borders) and losers (smugglers and the customs, police and local government officers who currently benefit from bribery at and around the borders) in the border areas.[13] More substantial impact could be attained by a new generation of investments in world-market production based on the region's comparative advantages in natural resources (especially mining and agriculture) and the new tariff structure creates marginally better conditions for world-market exporters, by cheapening inputs and by reducing upward pressures on the exchange rate.[13]

Common market

EAC heads in 2009. From left to right: Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Mwai Kibaki (Kenya), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania), Pierre Nkurunziza (Burundi).

On 1 July 2010, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki officially launched the East African Common Market Protocol, an expansion of the bloc's existing customs union that entered into effect in 2005.[49] The protocol will lead to the free movement of labour, capital, goods and services within the EAC.[49] Member states will have to change their national laws to allow the full implementation of some aspects of the Common Market such as immigration and customs.[4] This legislation may take up to five years for each of the countries to enact fully but official recognition of the common market took place on 1 July.[50] Kenya expects that its citizens will begin to enjoy freedom of movement in the EAC within two months.[51] Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi have already agreed to waive work permit fees for EAC citizens.[51] The Common Market is seen as a step towards implementation of the common currency by 2012 and full political federation in 2015.[4] Kenyan businesses complain that the benefits of the Common Market only exist on paper by 2011, and that all the work remains to be done. Arbitrary rules and delays continue to make trade between Kenya and Tanzania expensive and difficult.[52]

The free movement of people in the EAC is set to be improved with the introduction of "third generation" ID cards. These cards will identify the holder as a dual citizen of their home country and of "East Africa".[53] Third generation cards are already in use in Rwanda with Kenya set to introduce them in July 2010 and the other countries following afterwards.[54] Mutual recognition and accreditation of higher education institutions is also being worked towards as is the harmonisation of social security benefits across the EAC.[54]

Plans

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Main article: East African Federation

The new treaty may be fast tracked with plans drawn up in 2004 to introduce a monetary union with a common currency, the East African shilling, some time between 2012 and 2015. There were also plans for a political union, the East African Federation, with a common President (initially on a rotation basis) and a common parliament by 2010. However, some experts like those based out of the public think tank Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), noted that the plans were too ambitious to be met by 2010 because a number of political, social and economic challenges are yet to be addressed. The fast tracking is currently the subject of National Consultative discussions, and a final decision was to be taken by the EAC Heads of State in mid-2007.[55] In 2013 a protocol was signed outlining their plans for launching a monetary union within 10 years.[5]

Single tourist visa

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. It had been hoped that an East African Single Tourist Visa may have been ready for November 2006, if it was approved by the relevant sectoral authorities under the EAC's integration programme. Had it been approved, the visa would have been valid for all three current member states of the EAC (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda). Under the proposal for the visa, any new EAC single visa could be issued by any member state's embassy. The visa proposal followed an appeal by the tourist boards of the partner states for a common visa to accelerate promotion of the region as a single tourist destination and the EAC Secretariat wanted it approved before November's World Travel Fair (or World Travel Market) in London.[56] When approved by the EAC's council of ministers, tourists could apply for one country's entry visa which would then be applicable in all regional member states as a single entry requirement initiative.[57]

A single tourist visa for the EAC countries of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda was to be available on 1 January 2014.[58] However, the launch date was postponed due to bureaucratic issues.[59]

East African Court of Justice

The East African Court of Justice is the judicial arm of the Community. The court has original jurisdiction over the interpretation and application of the 1999 Treaty that re-established the EAC and in the future may have other original, appellate, human rights or other jurisdiction upon conclusion of a protocol to realise such extended jurisdiction. It is temporarily based in Arusha, Tanzania.

East African Legislative Assembly

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is the legislative arm of the Community. The EALA has 27 members who are all elected by the National Assemblies or Parliaments of the member states of the Community. The EALA has oversight functions on all matters that fall within the Community's work and its functions include debating and approving the budget of the Community, discussing all matters pertaining to the Community and making recommendations to the Council as it may deem necessary for the implementation of the Treaty, liaising with National Assemblies or Parliaments on matters pertaining to the Community and establishing committees for such purposes as it deems necessary. Since being inaugurated in 2001, the EALA has had several sittings as a plenum in Arusha, Kampala, and Nairobi.

The current Speaker of the Assembly is Margaret Zziwa from Uganda who replaced Abdirahin Haithar H. Abdi from Kenya. The Assembly has been credited with crucial bills, particularly those regarding regional and international trade, including EAC's stand on issues such as the World Trade Organisation and transport on Lake Victoria."[60]

East African passport

Rwandan president Paul Kagame at the 2006 EAC summit. Rwanda joined the EAC on 1 July 2007.

The East African passport was officially launched on 1 April 1999.[61] The East African passport has been introduced as a travel document to ease border crossing for EAC residents.[62][63] It is valid for travel within the EAC countries only and will entitle the holder to a multi entry stay of renewable six months' validity in any of the countries.[62] The passport is issued in three of the five EAC member states (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania). The passports are available at the Headquarters of the respective Immigration Departments in Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam. Only East African nationals may apply to be issued with the passports.[62][63] The passport costs US$10 or the equivalent in EAC currencies.[63] Processing of applications for the passports will normally take two to three weeks. Although the passport is only valid within the EAC, modalities of internationalising the East African passport were being discussed with the aim towards having a common travel document for EAC residents by 2006.[62]

Other measures meant to ease border crossing for East African Community residents include the issuance of interstate passes (which commenced on 1 July 2003), a single immigration Departure/Entry card (adopted by all three member states), the finalisation of harmonised procedures of work permits and the classification process, and the compilation of studies on the Harmonization of Labour Laws and Employment Policies (now in its final stages).[62]

Leaders

Current leaders of the EAC

Chairperson

Secretaries-General

Comparison with other regional blocs

African Economic Community
Pillars
regional
blocs (REC)1		 Area (km²) Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Member
states
in millions per capita
AEC 29,910,442 853,520,010 2,053,706 2,406 54
ECOWAS 5,112,903 300,000,000 1,322,452 3,888 15
ECCAS 6,667,421 121,245,958 175,928 1,451 11
SADC 9,882,959 233,944,179 737,335 3,152 15
EAC 1,817,945 124,858,568 104,239 1,065 5
COMESA 12,873,957 406,102,471 735,599 1,811 20
IGAD 5,233,604 187,969,775 225,049 1,197 7
Other
African
blocs		 Area (km²) Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Member
states
in millions per capita
CEMAC 2 3,020,142 34,970,529 85,136 2,435 6
SACU 2,693,418 51,055,878 541,433 10,605 5
UEMOA 1 3,505,375 80,865,222 101,640 1,257 8
UMA 2 5,782,140 84,185,073 491,276 5,836 5
GAFTA 3 5,876,960 166,259,603 635,450 3,822 5
1 Economic bloc inside a pillar REC

2 Proposed for pillar REC, but objecting participation
3 Non-African members of GAFTA are excluded from figures

  smallest value among the blocs compared
  largest value among the blocs compared

During 2004. Source: CIA World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database

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See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ East African Community Facts and Figures – 2009
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ East African trade zone off to creaky start, Christian Science Monitor, 9 March 2006
  12. ↑ We Celebrated at EAC Collapse, Says Njonjo.
  13. ↑ 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 13.11 13.12 13.13 13.14 13.15 13.16 13.17 13.18 13.19 13.20 13.21 13.22 13.23 13.24 13.25 13.26 13.27 13.28 13.29 13.30 13.31 13.32 13.33 David Booth, Diana Cammack, Thomas Kibua and Josaphat Kwek (2007) East African integration: How can it contribute to East African development? Overseas Development Institute
  14. ↑ allAfrica.com: Tanzania: Fast-Tracking Political Federation
  15. ↑ EAC federation fears justified? Tanzania's Daily News on Saturday; 5 May 2007
  16. ↑ Kenya: Tears for Mt Elgon as Schools Re-Open
  17. ↑ Sabiny Demand Land as Karamajong Raid Reduce
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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ South Sudan readies for EAC membership
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ "East Africa: South Sudan's Push to Join EAC Gains Momentum", The East African, reported by Fred Oluoch, 7 November 2015, reprinted at allAfrica.com, accessed 14 November 2015
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ "http://myuganda.co.ug/uganda-tribes-and-languages" . Uganda Tribes and Languages
  41. ↑ "http://myuganda.co.ug/uganda-tribes-and-languages". List of Uganda Tribes and Languages
  42. ↑ "http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/EtatsNsouverains/Zanzibar.htm". Languages of Zanzibar
  43. ↑ "http://www.katutandike.org/facts-about-uganda". Facts About Uganda
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ http://allafrica.com/stories/201105191252.html
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ *Sunday Nation (Business Sunday) – 7 January 2007
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ http://www.eala.org/new/magazine/file". [PDF] Removal of NTBs top priority for EAC
  61. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 62.2 62.3 62.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 63.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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