Flags of member states of the East African Community (Image by TradeMark East Africa)
The ongoing COVID19 pandemic has not only affected countries but regional blocs as well. Besides dealing with COVID19 consequences, the East African Community is faced with another major challenge; a cash crisis.
For the past two decades, the East African Community (EAC) has been working hard to achieve its vision of a prosperous, competitive, secure, stable, and politically united East Africa.
To make this vision a reality, the EAC laid out four pillars to track its integration process: Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union, and Political Federation.
The Customs union protocol, which started in 2005, created a regional free trade area on goods and services, resulting in a boost of intra-trade within the EAC bloc. Although challenged on different occasions, the customs union protocol has served as a strong pillar for EAC integration. The free movement of goods from and to the seaports to the East African countries that the protocol guarantees, is the main reason why countries of the region – especially the landlocked ones – are still fully committed to it.
The Common Market – the second EAC integration milestone – followed in 2010 with guaranteeing the free movement of people, labor, capital, and the right of citizens of one country to have a residence in another EAC member state easily.
However, the EAC member states failed to find a common ground on the implementation of the protocol, especially on the steps and the pace to be followed to achieve regional integration.
Some countries wanted a fast regional integration process, while others preferred a slower process instead. As a result, the regional bloc fell into "division" among its member states, with Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda backing the fast integration process (which was to become the "northern corridor"), while on the other side; Burundi and Tanzania wanted a slow-paced integration process.
However, things changed when Rwanda and Uganda – both members of the northern corridor – entered into open conflict.
Consequently, the leaders of the northern corridor countries started working on different major projects promoting their agenda for a fast integration process. From facilitating the movement of people by allowing their citizens to travel with their national identity cards rather than passports to planning major infrastructure projects like the railroad that would run from the port of Mombasa in Kenya to Kigali in Rwanda via Kampala in Uganda; it was clear that the northern corridor was fully committed to achieving its goals.
However, things changed when Rwanda and Uganda – both members of the northern corridor – entered into open conflict. It started with Rwanda accusing Uganda of harassing, arresting and torturing its citizens who travel or live in Uganda. The government of Rwanda reacted in putting in place a travel advisory strongly requesting her citizens not to travel to Uganda where their lives would be at risk. The conflict later escalated into a bordure closure between the two neighboring countries.
All these developments came to undermine regional integration, especially the achievements that had been achieved since the launching of East Africa's northern corridor, as both trade and free movement of people within the region, were put to a halt. Besides, even the major infrastructure projects that had been the foundation of unity among Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda were no longer a priority.
COVID19, EAC bloc's foe #1
The COVID19 pandemic came as a hard punch to the EAC region as a whole.
With its member states divided on how to respond to COVID19 in a coordinated manner, the East African Community has failed to make a regional strategy to fight the virus. The efforts of some countries in tackling COVID19 have been undermined by their neighbors' lack of political will to follow the same path.
The East African Community has also seen its truck drivers – who have allowed the continuation of imports and exports of essential goods within the bloc – become the main spreaders of the virus, due to the nature of their work that makes them highly mobile and easily exposed to the virus.
As of July 21, 2020, The East African Community has 19,511 confirmed cases, with 10,111 that are still active. The deaths are numbered in 310, while more than 9,000 patients recovered. However, these statistics may be doubted by the fact that some are erroneous with the example of Uganda which has more recovered patients (1071) than the total number of confirmed cases (1069), and Tanzania which has stopped recording the COVID19 cases in early May, after President Magufuli openly questioned the authenticity of the COVID19 test kits.
Unable to do otherwise for the sake of their countries' survival, leaders of Rwanda, Uganda – two landlocked countries that had successfully implemented major measures to fight COVID19 domestically – allowed foreign truckers to keep coming in and out, resulting in the increase of COVID19 cases within these countries, especially after they lifted the lockdown.
As Rwanda President Kagame said in an online conference recently, "Landlocked states cannot survive without allowing trade to flow, and this requires open borders." He sounded disappointed by the fact that the East African Community could not lead a strong and regionally coordinated response against COVID19 because some countries didn't prioritize fighting COVID19 for some other interests of their own.
Tanzania's president John Pombe Magufuli has been criticized for undermining COVID19 for what seems to be political and economic reasons. President Magufuli has recently declared that his country is now "coronavirus-free" and encouraged businesses to run as usual.
Until recently, Burundi had also undermined the seriousness of the virus, with its leaders declaring "God's protection over Burundi and its people." However, in a recent interview, the new president of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimye declared new measures to fight COVID19, such as massive COVID19 tests.
Beside COVID19, the region is also facing another threat, which unlike the first, may leave the EAC with fewer member states.
Kenya's action against COVID19 did not bear fruits as expected. Despite imposing an early lockdown to limit the spreading of COVID19 on its territory, Kenya saw itself becoming the hub of the virus in East Africa as its number of COVID19 cases kept surging. Uganda later imposed strong measures to test foreign truckers (mostly Kenyan) at its borders, and turn them back in case they are COVID19 positive.
South Sudan's action against COVID19 has been limited by the country's fragile health system and its ongoing civil war.
Beside COVID19, the region is also facing another threat, which unlike the first, may leave the EAC with fewer member states.
The cash crisis that is tearing EAC apart...
From July 1, 2020, The East African Community is officially in a cash crisis, because it has no budget to run its daily activities. The Council of Ministers – the EAC central decision-making and governing Organ – is the body that approves the budget.
The council has not yet met as of July 21, 2020. The delay was reportedly due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, as well as the recent developments in the region. This made it impossible for all the member states to attend the meeting, thus the inability to reach the quorum required for a decision-making meeting.
However, the issue of quorum should be revised, as it has crippled the region for several occasions, as it cannot make crucial decisions on which depends the EAC in its daily functions. EAC decision-making meetings should take place if the majority of the members are available; a five out of six should be enough, especially in extraordinary cases.
An Extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting planned for July 15 to approve the budget failed to take place after Tanzania requested for its postponement to July 31. In case the same scenario repeats itself in the future, maybe at another member state request, it would mean that the current situation would worsen, with more terrible consequences.
The EAC budget is funded through financial contributions from its member states as well as international donors. Every member state contributes $8 million per year. The EAC annual budget amounts to approximately $111 million, of which the Secretariat gets at least 50 percent to finance its operations.
Without these contributions, the region's legislative, judiciary bodies, the executive secretariat, as well as other major EAC bodies cannot function.
Without money, the EAC is also unable to pay its workers; the top, and average workers alike. Already members of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) and staff have complained about not being paid their allowances the past four months.
The decreasing commitment of EAC member states towards the regional bloc is the sole, critical challenge facing the community today.
The East African Community's financial challenges don't stop with the current budget crisis. A total of $50 million is still owed to the bloc by its member states.
Burundi and South Soudan owe the bloc $15 million and $27.8 million respectively, while other EAC states that have arrears include Uganda ($1.6 million), Rwanda ($2.7 million), and Tanzania ($4.2 million). Kenya is the only country that has fully paid its annual contributions.
According to the Kenya-based The East African, Burundi and South Sudan may be expelled from the EAC in case they fail to meet their financial obligations, and this would, therefore, leave the community with only four member states. This move would probably result in an EAC that is weak and incapable to attract possible new member states that have shown their interest in joining the blog. Consequently, the remaining members may react by either, increasing their commitment to the bloc, or in the worst scenario, end up like in 1977 when the first East African Community collapsed.
The future of EAC is in peril, as its member states are not willing to pay the cost that regional integration requires. The community should be able to sanction member states who do not adhere to the EAC rules, thus promoting a spirit of commitment among current or future EAC member states.
The decreasing commitment of EAC member states towards the regional bloc is the sole, critical challenge facing the community today. In case the member states continue to neglect the community, the chances for the East African bloc to become one political entity, with one single currency will remain an unachievable goal.