EAC delays Rwanda admission

By Felix Osike and John Kakande THE admission of Rwanda and Burundi to the East African Community (EAC) has again been delayed, the council of ministers chief, Jakaya Kikwete, announced yesterday.The decision was communicated to presidents Yoweri Museveni, Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania and Daniel arap Moi of Kenya during the extra-ordinary summit of the Heads of State in Kampala. Rwanda and Burundi applied for membership in 1996 and 1999 respectively.“The council felt strongly that ultimately the Community may have to include those two countries. However, the council was of the view that this was not the appropriate moment for Rwanda and Burundi to be admitted,” read the ministers report adopted by the presidents. A joint communique was issued at the end of the summit which is chaired by Moi. The council’s report said the community was still in a formative stage and it would not be prudent to admit new members now. The ministers said the admission should be made after the protocol for the establishment of a customs union has been finalised, signed and is operational.“At that time, the application of Rwanda, Burundi and other foreign countries would be considered,” read the report. Museveni objected to the use of the word “foreign” countries and said it should be replaced with, “fraternal” countries.The council observed that in the interest of the EAC, any admission of foreign countries for whatever category will be based on strict conformity with the criteria provided in the treaty. One of the conditions is that an applicant country has to be democratic. “In view of all these considerations and decisions, the council directed that the applications by Rwanda and Burundi will be kept under active review and the applicants kept duly informed,” the report said.A formal reply informing them of the decision will be sent to the two countries soon. The council also discussed the easing of cross-border movement of East Africans.On the establishment of the customs union, the council noted that consensus had been reached on a number of crucial issues. However, consensus is yet to be reached on some issues relating to the elimination of internal tariffs and establishment of the common external tariff.The summit appointed ambassador Ali Said Mchumo as the new deputy secretary general, replacing ambassador Fulgence Kazaura whose contract expired.The summit also approved the EAC budget of US$5,249,301 for the financial year 2002/2003 to cater for the Secretariat, the defence liaison unit and East African Legislative Assembly and Court of Justice.The three presidents also launched the strategic plan of the East African Business Council presented by its chairman, Wilfred Kiboro. Earlier, Moi said the current world trends were posing a great challenge to the fragile and weak economies like that of the East African states. “We are building a community with a large single market and investment area. The regional integration will offer us a stronger bargaining power,” said Moi. He reiterated his country’s commitment to the success of the community, adding that Africa should never again be called a dark continent.Museveni said, “I am very excited that the East African Community has finally been resurrected.” He said the move towards the establishment of a customs union was a progressive step.EAC Secretary General Amanya Mushega said the East Africans “have a big thirst for regional integration.” He called on the three states to move towards the full realisation of a single market.