NA Market EAC
a black man like Obote would mean Ken- yans questioning the ability and relevance of the British, regarding the administra- tion of Kenya and its economic manage- ment. Te British could not stomach the embarrassment and therefore Obote had to go. Uganda would be destabilised both politically and economically in order to massage the ego of the British. In an April 2002 letter to the Ugan-
dan media, written from his exiled home in Lusaka, Zambia, Obote confirmed this political history: “Te UPC policies of the 1960s which saw the living standards of the people rising year on year,” he wrote, “and secondly, the ability of the second UPC government to rehabilitate the Ugandan economy within four years, made successive British governments adopt a policy ensuring continued settler occupation of the Kenyan highlands.” Obote’s UPC ruled Uganda twice –
from October 1962 to January 1971, and from December 1980 to July 1985 when he was deposed again, the only African leader to be overthrown twice in two separate coups. Obote said in a letter: “Tis would be that Uganda is not ruled by a party whose performance in government makes the people
of Kenya to question the performance of their government, which, if they did, could cause the presence of the [British] settlers also to be questioned.” Te British desire for comfort meant
they had to sponsor Amin’s coup of Janu- ary 1971, and another one on 27 July 1985 that ushered in General Tito Okello’s jun- ta. Both Amin and Okello were Obote’s army commanders before turning the gun against their commander-in-chief. Tus, the experience of the old EAC
is a veritable guide for the revived EAC which came into being in November 1999. Continued mistrust and suspicion among the region’s leaders and citizens are still hampering attempts at total federation. National consultative surveys launched
in October 2006 have returned red flags in certain instances. For example, over 70% of Tanzanians do not want complete unity. Tey cite fears such as Kenyans moving into Tanzania to grab their land. Besides land, Ugandans, too, fear that
Kenyans will snatch jobs from them. Te surveys were conducted in the three original EAC “partner states” of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania before Rwanda and Burundi were officially admitted to the
“ A monetary union is expected in 2012. The ultimate political federation waits till 2013.”
Community on 18 June 2007. At the leadership level, there are fears
of a cold war between Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, and Kenya’s prime min- ister, Raila Odinga. A Marxist turned free market advocate and formerly a darling of the West, Museveni is said to be losing his influence to the social-democrat Odinga in the eyes of the Western powers. And with Museveni’s eyes trained on the EAC presidency when a political federation is achieved in 2013, Odinga, in his 60s, is a threat to the former’s raw ambition. This cold war reached a crescendo
when Museveni became the only head of state to congratulate Kenya’s president, Mwai Kibaki, on his still very contro- versial re-election on 27 December 2007. Odinga claims that his victory was sto- len by Kibaki. Thirdly, and sadly for Museveni, Tanzania’s president, Jakaya Kikwete, a Lt-Colonel who served in the intelligence wing of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces, does not wholly trust the Ugandan president. For close to 40 years now, since anti-Amin Ugandan exiles were given sanctuary in Tanzania (among whom were Museveni’s forces), Kikwete has been fully aware of Museveni’s tactics and antics. Indeed, in early 2007 when Museveni
embarked on a “road tour” of the East African region (disregarding protocol in the process), Kikwete’s government asked him to return home as soon as he stepped on Tanzanian soil. So far, the economic integration of the region has seen the development of an East African Common Market Protocol allow- ing the partner states to operate as a single market with free movement of goods, serv- ices, labour and capital; and with common taxes and similar trade laws.
On 1 July 2010, the EAC implemented this market protocol, which means there is now a legal document endorsing free movement of people within the EAC. A monetary union is expected in 2012. Te ultimate political federation waits till 2013. But will it ever come to fruition?
The EAC leaders of today: (from left) Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda,
Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, and Mwai Kibaki of Kenya
70 | April 2011 New African
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