EAC summit pushed forward as members mull Somalia, South Sudan inclusion

 President John Magufuli is scheduled to chair the EAC heads of state summit for the first time since taking office

Head of the corporate communications and public affairs department with the EAC secretariat, Richard Owora

 The East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Summit earlier scheduled for February 29 (next Monday) in Arusha has been pushed to March 2 (Wednesday) to allow all five presidents to attend.

 

This comes as members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) continue to differ on the inclusion of Somalia and South Sudan as new members of the regional bloc.

 

According to the head of the corporate communications and public affairs department with the EAC secretariat, Richard Owora, all five presidents including the embattled Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi had by yesterday afternoon confirmed their participation in the summit.

 

“They have all confirmed their participation for the summit which has been pushed further to next Wednesday,” he said.

 

The EAC council of ministers is meanwhile conducting its own meeting to precede the summit, Owora said.

 

The Guardian understands that negotiations have been going on behind the scenes regarding the admission of South Sudan and Somalia into the EAC, which is already a home to some 146 million people.

 

According to the treaty establishing the community, a country may be allowed to join the bloc if it borders one of the partner states and is ready to adhere to the Open Market Policy.

 

Nonetheless, the inclusion of particularly those two countries into the bloc has drawn mixed reactions among East Africans.

 

According to Tanzanian EALA lawmaker Abdullah Mwinyi, even though residents of the region stand to greatly benefit from the bloc’s further expansion, the issue of political stability within and among member states is also very important.

 

“I’m aware that some observers have been dispatched to the two countries to keep tabs on what’s been happening on the ground on this issue of political stability,” said Mwinyi, who also chairs the EALA regional affairs and conflict resolution committee

 

He warned that the inclusion of the two countries into the bloc might come with a price if the issues of political stability are not properly addressed.

 

But he also said that even though the two countries had not met some of the thresholds, it was likely they would be accepted as new EAC members.

 

Since 2012 when a new internationally-backed government was installed, Somalia - with an estimated population of 9.8 million - has been inching towards stability. But the new authorities still face a challenge from Al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Shabaab insurgents who continuously wreak havoc in the neighboring country of Kenya.

 

Similarly, a recent United Nations report suggested that the security council places an arms embargo on South Sudan, while the oil-rich country's president Salva Kiir and a rebel leader qualify to be sanctioned over atrocities in a two-year civil war.

 

The political dispute between Kiir and his rival Riek Machar, who was once the president's deputy, sparked the civil war which has widened and reopened ethnic fault lines between Kiir's Dinka and Machar's Nuer tribes, claiming more than 10,000 lives.

 

The project coordinator of Consciousness and Development Forum (FOCODE) in Burundi, Jérémie Nkunzimana, noted that the issue of Southern Sudan was more advanced than Somalia, saying that if it wasn’t for the two-year civil war, the world’s newest country would have long joined the bloc.

 

According to Nkunzimana, the onus now lay on the shoulders of the EAC to help to resolve political issues that stem from the two countries, as they wait to be brought on board.

 

“Inviting Somalia and Southern Sudan into the bloc is inevitable, however the priority should be bent on helping the two countries attain stability,” he observed.

 

Burundi joined the EAC in 2007 after holding what were believed to be free and fair elections in 2005.

 

But Moses Adam, chief executive officer of Friends of East Africa, a regional non-governmental institution based in Arusha, insisted that it was too early to bring any of the two countries on board, warning that the EAC would pay a heavy price for their hasty inclusion.

 

According to Adam, Burundi was rushed into the bloc before it had settled properly, and now the EAC has shifted all of its focus on finding lasting resolve to bring peace to that country.

 

“Kiir and Machar (in South Sudan) still don’t see eye to eye…Somalia is plagued with terrorism… why are we rushing to inviting them?” he queried.

 

The executive chairperson of the Smart Legal Professionals Clinic in Arusha, Masesa Mashauri, said it was about time both countries be brought on board on condition that they adhere to EAC bylaws.

 

“Terrorism knows no borders… it is not fair to associate Somalia with the vice. The best option is to invite them into the bloc and ensure that they stick to the bylaws,” Mashauri said.

 

He advocated that the two countries be given enough time to adjust and gel into the bloc.

 

During the summit, the EAC heads of state are also expected to launch the new International East African e-Passport (electronic passport).

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN