'We Have Come of Age':EAC Secretary-General Peter Mathuki on African Integration

The EAC Secretary-General Peter Mathuki believes the EAC will become "the most integrated regional economic bloc in the world, because it is already the most integrated on the African continent", he told African journalists.

Among the issues discussed was the "agenda of a borderless Africa". According to the official, travel costs should be decreased, so that Africans could easily move around the continent.

"We have to have open skies and travel cheaply within the region," Mathuki explains. "We need to see Kenya Airways, RwandAir, Uganda Airlines and Air Tanzania working together to lower the cost of air transport so that people can move more goods. Governments also need to lower the landing rates."

As for further integration, Mathuki stressed that Tanzania has confirmed its decision to join teh EAC's one area network in a phased manner.

In addition, the Secretary-General also noted that the allocation by Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan of 125 acres in Arusha in the north-east of the country to the EAC for development, shows Tanzania's "commitment to regional integration".

Africa

Burkina Faso Set to Resume Diplomatic Ties With DPRK

30 March 2023, 08:28 GMT

Mathuki has also urged other EAC partners to show their dedication to the regional integration process.

"I can tell you it'll come with benefits. Somalia has a 3,000km coastline – the longest in Africa," Mathuki stressed. "Combine that with Kenya’s 1,400km and Tanzania’s and you have a 5,000km coastline. This means that the cost of transporting goods will become cheaper because there will be a bigger marine service line."

With Somalia being at an advanced stage of joining the community, he stated that both the country and the EAC will benefit from integration.

The official emphasized that for Somalia it would be better to enter the EAC, rather than to be "on its own".

"In fact, it's more dangerous for Somalia to be out there," Mathuki stressed. "They're not an EAC member, therefore we have no mandate to deal with their security issues. If we go to the [UN] Security Council and ask for resources, they will listen to us. But if Mogadishu goes on its own, they’ll probably not listen to them."

Africa

Intra-African Collaboration Best Way to Tackle Terrorism on Continent, Says Expert

24 March 2023, 15:43 GMT

Mathuki has also outlined that by deciding to include the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) , the EAC "changed the global dynamics" and was "the best" despite security issues faced by the country.

"It has brought in close to 100 million people into the population of East Africa. But it has also connected the Atlantic Ocean with the Indian Ocean, so that new corridor becomes critical to supporting the movement of goods, " he noted. "The inclusion of DRC remains one of the best decisions the heads of states have made. When the UN Security Council is seated, when the African Union is seated, there’s an agenda about East Africa."

Moreover, the official said that Ethiopia was a good country to join the community, because if it does, global discussions about markets and security will have to take East Africa's interests into account.

"If we admit Ethiopia, the EAC market will be more than 500 million people. Nobody will talk [about] markets and security without talking about East Africa, and that’s a conversation we have started," Mathuki enthused.

The official has also mentioned that the EAC is currently reviewing its institutional structure.

"Importantly, we are commencing institutional review to move from being a secretariat to a commission. We have come of age. A secretariat is limited in terms of mandate."

The community was founded in 1967 but collapsed after 10 years. It reopened in 2000 with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as its founding members. Today the community consists of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan,Tanzania, and Uganda.

In 2010, the block initiated a common regional goods, labor, and capital market. The EAC is planning to establish a single currency and, in the long run, a political federation.

Mathuki earlier said that a single currency for the EAC could be achieved within the next three or four years.

'We Have Come of Age' – EAC Secretary-General Peter Mathuki on Intra-African Integration