The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organization in East Africa with a rich history of cooperation and integration. This organization has evolved significantly over the years, playing a crucial role in the region's economic, political, and social development.
Currently, the EAC's membership consists of eight states: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. William Ruto, the president of Kenya, is the current EAC chairman.
Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have been cooperating with each other since the early 20th century. The East African Currency Board provided a common currency from 1919 to 1966.
Let's delve into the key milestones in the formation and evolution of the EAC:
- Early Cooperation: The customs union between Kenya and Uganda in 1917, which Tanganyika joined in 1927.
- East African High Commission (EAHC): From 1948 to 1961, inter-territorial cooperation between the Kenya Colony, the Uganda Protectorate, and the Tanganyika Territory was formalized 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.
- East African Common Services Organization (EACSO): Following independence, these integrated activities were reconstituted and the EAHC was replaced by the EACSO from 1961 to 1967, which many observers thought would lead to a political federation between the three territories.
- The First EAC: In 1967, the EACSO was superseded by the EAC. However, in 1977, the EAC collapsed due to the lack of joint planning and fiscal policy, separate political policies, and Kenya's dominant economic position.
Map of East African Community member states
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Revival and Expansion
The EAC was 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 collapse of the previous 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.
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, and South Sudan was reportedly an applicant country as of mid-July 2011. In December 2012, Tanzania 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. The Democratic Republic of the Congo was admitted as a member of the EAC on 29 March 2022, and officially became a member on 11 July 2022.
In July 2023 Kenyan President William Ruto raised the idea of Comoros joining the EAC while signing an agreement for deeper bilateral cooperation between Kenya and Comoros. In 2010, Tanzanian officials expressed interest in inviting Malawi to join the EAC. Sudan applied to join the EAC in 2011, with Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda supporting membership, while Tanzania and Uganda were opposed to it.
Challenges facing the East Africa Community
Organizational Structure
The EAC has several key organs that work together to achieve its goals:
- The Summit: Consists of the heads of state of each member country. The Summit gives "strategic direction towards the realisation of the goal and objectives of the Community," and convenes once per year, with additional meetings at request of any member of the Summit. The Chairperson of the Summit's tenure is one year and is in rotation from among the partner states.
- The Council: Consists of the Minister responsible for EAC affairs of each member State, any other Minister of the member state the member state elects; and the Attorney General of each Partner State. The Council meets twice a year. The Council main function is to implement decisions made by the Summit.
- The Co-ordination Committee: Consists of the Permanent Secretaries of EAC affairs in each member state and any other Permanent Secretaries as determined by the member state. The Coordination Committee meets at least twice a year preceding the meetings of the Council.
- The East African Court of Justice (EACJ): Is the judicial arm of the community and consists of the First Instance Division and an Appellate Division. The Judges are appointed by the Summit from candidates recommended by the member states. The court has jurisdiction over cases involving interpretation and application of the treaty.
- 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. As of August 2024, the Speaker of the Assembly is Dan Kidega from Uganda.
- The Secretariat: Is the executive organ of the EAC. The highest office of the Secretariat is the Secretary General, appointed by the summit.
Here is a table summarizing the key organs of the EAC:
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| Organ | Composition | Function |
|---|---|---|
| The Summit | Heads of State of each member country | Provides strategic direction |
| The Council | Ministers responsible for EAC affairs | Implements decisions made by the Summit |
| The Co-ordination Committee | Permanent Secretaries of EAC affairs | Implements directives decided by the Council |
| The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) | Judges appointed by the Summit | Judicial arm of the community |
| The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) | 27 members elected by National Assemblies | Legislative arm of the community |
| The Secretariat | Secretary General and Deputy Secretaries General | Executive organ of the EAC |
Challenges and Future Prospects
The EAC is critically underfunded due to defaulting member states. Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia are the only member states to not have any standing debt. Uganda has paid 99% of its remittance. The budget deficits have led to a slowdown in community operations. At the 23rd Ordinary summit in 2023, they agreed on a new financing model in which 65% of the budget is contributed to equally, while the remaining 35% is contributed to on the basis of each member states' respective average nominal GDP in the past five years as assessed by the World Bank.
In 2008, after negotiations with the Southern African 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 organisations. 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 with its capital at Arusha, Tanzania.
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