Museveni pushes for fast-track East African common currency
“We should engage in a structural way and tell them that please stop misusing the member states to distort the growth of the East African market,” the President said.
Museveni, who currently chairs the East African Community, said stronger collaboration among member states should translate into practical improvements that benefit ordinary citizens.
KAMPALA - President Yoweri Museveni has called for faster economic integration across the East African Community (EAC), urging member states to strengthen regional cooperation, improve transport infrastructure and accelerate efforts toward a common currency in a move he believes could boost trade and prosperity across the bloc.
The remarks came during a meeting with EAC Secretary-General Stephen Patrick Mbundi at State Lodge in Nakasero, according to a Presidential Press Unit statement issued through the Uganda Media Centre on June 9.
The discussions also involved First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga and focused on trade, infrastructure, health, financing, staffing challenges within EAC institutions and the wider integration agenda.
Museveni, who currently chairs the East African Community, said stronger collaboration among member states should translate into practical improvements that benefit ordinary citizens.
“We should engage in a structural way and tell them that please stop misusing the member states to distort the growth of the East African market,” the President said.
A major part of the discussion centred on transport infrastructure, which Museveni described as critical to lowering costs and making regional trade more efficient. He argued that railways should carry heavy cargo and petroleum products, while roads should mainly serve passengers and lighter goods.
“Now, the infrastructure I totally support. We must rationalise the transport system. The railway transport should carry heavy goods and petroleum products, while roads remain for passengers and light cargo,” he said, adding that transport officials should work together to develop practical regional connections.
The President also welcomed a proposal from the EAC Secretariat that would require non-member countries exporting goods into the East African market to make financial contributions to the regional bloc. Calling it “a new idea and a very good idea,” he said, deserved consideration.
Another key issue was the proposed East African Monetary Union, an initiative aimed at creating a shared currency for member states. Supporters argue that a common currency would reduce exchange rate fluctuations that complicate cross-border trade and increase business costs.
He proposed allowing countries that are ready to adopt the system first instead of waiting for all eight members to meet the required conditions simultaneously.
Kadaga said Museveni’s leadership of the EAC places added responsibility on the region to deliver progress, expressing hope that advances could be made on the remaining pillars of integration, including monetary union.
Mbundi also outlined priorities for his tenure, including climate resilience, food security and renewable energy, saying the Secretariat will promote climate-smart agriculture, better water management in the Lake Victoria Basin and wider access to clean energy.
For businesses, traders and consumers across East Africa, the discussions signal renewed political momentum behind projects that could reshape regional commerce, reduce transport costs and eventually simplify transactions through a shared currency.
While no immediate policy changes were announced, the meeting highlighted areas likely to remain at the centre of the EAC’s agenda in the months ahead.