'EAC states yet to agree on HQ of regional central bank'

KAMPALA - East African Community (EAC) states are yet to agree on the headquarters of the EAC central bank, Uganda's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for EAC Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, has said.

A resolution on this matter is key if the countries are to reach the way forward on a common currency for EAC, she added.

Speaking on Tuesday in Kampala, Kadaga said the first thing she did when she was appointed EAC Affairs minister was to secure land for the bank's headquarters in Kampala from Uganda Police in Nsambya if Uganda were to be granted the chance to host it.

“Unfortunately, when the advert was put out for who would host this bank, almost all countries applied,” she said, referring to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi.
She said when the countries were evaluated, Tanzania was earmarked as the best candidate.

The former Speaker of Parliament said Uganda and other members opposed this on account that Tanzania has a lion’s share of the headquarters of other EAC offices, including the East African Legislative Assembly, and East African Court of Justice.

“We said you cannot take the bank. We got into a stalemate, so we are battling over that,” Kadaga told journalists at the ministry’s headquarters in Uganda's capital.

'Coalition of the willing'

To reveal this, Kadaga was responding to a journalist who claimed that the delay to implement the common currency is causing suffering among the EAC citizens, yet it could mitigate some of the adverse effects of a floating exchange rate when they transact across borders.

Kadaga said the proposal from Uganda to other members was to consider issuing one currency to run alongside East African countries’ domestic currencies.

She said that is how the European Union addressed this challenge during their integration years ago.

“However, the central banks of the EAC want a convergence criterion for all countries. But how can we have a convergence criterion with Kenya which is now a middle-income country and the same as South Sudan in order to qualify? 

"I have told them can we go with the coalition of the willing so that we start,” said Kadaga.

The eight partner states of the EAC are: 

▪️ Republic of Uganda

▪️ Republic of Kenya

▪️ United Republic of Tanzania

▪️ Republic of Rwanda

▪️ Republic of Burundi

▪️ Republic of South Sudan

▪️ Democratic Republic of the Congo, and

▪️ Federal Republic of Somalia