East African Community
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The East African Community (EAC) is an
intergovernmental organisation An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...
in
East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
. The EAC's membership consists of eight states:
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republics of
Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
,
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
,
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
,
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
,
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
, and
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
.
William Ruto William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 January 1967) is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected Deputy President of Kenya, ...
, the president of Kenya, is the current EAC chairman. The organisation was founded in 1967, collapsed in 1977, and was revived on 7 July 2000. The main objective of the EAC is to foster regional economic integration. In 2008, after negotiations with the
Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Goals The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...
(SADC) and the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...
(COMESA), the EAC agreed to an expanded free trade area including the member states of all three organisations. The EAC is an integral part of the African Economic Community. The EAC is a potential precursor to the establishment of the East African Federation, a proposed
federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
of its members into a single
sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...
. In 2010, the EAC launched its own common market for
goods In economics, goods are anything that is good, usually in the sense that it provides welfare or utility to someone. Alan V. Deardorff, 2006. ''Terms Of Trade: Glossary of International Economics'', World Scientific. Online version: Deardorffs ...
, labour, and capital within the region, with the goal of creating a common currency and eventually a full political
federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
with its capital at Arusha, Tanzania. In 2013, a protocol was signed outlining their plans for launching a
monetary union A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration (such as an economic and monetary union ...
within 10 years. In September 2018, a committee was formed to begin the process of drafting a regional constitution.


History


Formation and re-formation

Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have cooperated with each other since the early 20th century. The East African Currency Board provided a common currency from 1919 to 1966. The customs union between Kenya and Uganda in 1917, which Tanganyika joined in 1927, was followed by the East African High Commission (EAHC) from 1948 to 1961, the East African Common Services Organization (EACSO) from 1961 to 1967, and the EAC from 1967 to 1977. Burundi and Rwanda joined the EAC on 6 July 2009. Inter-territorial co-operation between the
Kenya Colony The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa from 1920 until 1963. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a Brit ...
, the
Uganda Protectorate The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the Br ...
, and the
Tanganyika Territory Tanganyika was a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the United Kingdom in various forms from 1916 until 1961. It was initially administered under military occupation. From 20 July 1922, it was formalised into a League o ...
was formalised in 1948 by the EAHC. This provided a
customs union A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a) Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set u ...
, a common external tariff, currency, and postage. It also dealt with common services in transport and communications, research, and education. Following independence, these integrated activities were reconstituted and the EAHC was replaced by the EACSO, which many observers thought would lead to a political federation between the three territories. The new organisation ran into difficulties because of the lack of joint planning and fiscal policy, separate political policies, and Kenya's dominant economic position. In 1967, the EACSO was superseded by the EAC. This body aimed to strengthen the ties between the members through a common market, a common customs tariff, and a range of public services to achieve balanced economic growth within the region. In 1977, the EAC collapsed. The causes of the collapse included demands by Kenya for more seats than Uganda and Tanzania in decision-making organs, disagreements with Ugandan dictator
Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...
who demanded that Tanzania as a member state of the EAC should not harbour forces fighting to topple the government of another member state, and the disparate economic systems of socialism in Tanzania and capitalism in Kenya.East African trade zone off to creaky start
''Christian Science Monitor'', 2006
The three member states lost over sixty years of co-operation and the benefits of
economies of scale In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of Productivity, output produced per unit of cost (production cost). A decrease in ...
, although some Kenyan government officials celebrated the collapse with champagne.We Celebrated at EAC Collapse, Says Njonjo
Presidents
Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the thi ...
of Kenya, Ali Hassan Mwinyi of Tanzania, and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda signed the Treaty for East African Co-operation in Kampala on 1993 and established a Tri-partite Commission for Co-operation. A process of re-integration was embarked on involving tripartite programs of co-operation in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research and technology, defence, security, and legal and judicial affairs. 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 A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a) Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set u ...
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. A common system of
tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...
s will apply to goods imported from third-party countries. On 30 November 2016 it was declared that the immediate aim would be
confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
rather than federation.


South Sudan's accession

The presidents of Kenya and Rwanda invited the
Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be def ...
to apply for membership upon the independence of
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
in 2011, and South Sudan was reportedly an applicant country as of mid-July 2011. Analysts suggested that South Sudan's early efforts to integrate infrastructure, including rail links and oil pipelines, with systems in Kenya and Uganda indicated intention on the part of
Juba Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...
to pivot away from dependence on
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
and toward the EAC.
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
considers South Sudan the likeliest candidate for EAC expansion in the short term, and an article in Tanzanian daily '' The Citizen'' that reported
East African Legislative Assembly The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is a sub-organ of the larger East African Community, being the legislative arm of the Community. Members are sworn into five-year terms. History Since colonial times, a number of organizations have ...
Speaker Abdirahin Haithar Abdi said South Sudan was "free to join the EAC" asserted that analysts believe the country will soon become a full member of the regional body. On 17 September 2011, the ''
Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is a Kenyan newspaper. It was founded in 1958 and is published in Nairobi. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hayes. It was bought in 1 ...
'' quoted a South Sudanese MP as saying that while his government was eager to join the EAC, it would likely delay its membership over concerns that its economy was not sufficiently developed to compete with EAC member states and could become a "dumping ground" for Kenyan, Tanzanian, and Ugandan exports. This was contradicted by President
Salva Kiir Mayardit Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), commonly known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who is the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the List of heads of state of So ...
, who announced that South Sudan had begun the application process one month later. The application was deferred by the EAC in December 2012, however incidents with Ugandan boda-boda operators in South Sudan have created political tension and may delay the process. 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. In May 2013 the EAC set aside $82,000 USD for the admission of South Sudan into the bloc even though admission may not happen until 2016. The process, to start after the EAC Council of Ministers meeting in August 2013, was projected to take at least four years. At the 14th Ordinary Summit held in Nairobi in 2012, EAC heads of state approved the verification report that was presented by the Council of Ministers, then directed it to start the negotiation process with South Sudan. A team was formed to assess South Sudan's bid; however, in April 2014, the nation requested a delay in the admissions process, presumably due to ongoing internal conflict. South Sudan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, claimed publicly in October 2015 that, following evaluations and meetings of a special technical committee in May, June, August, September and October, the committee has recommended that South Sudan be allowed to join the East African Community. Those recommendations, however, had not been released to the public. It was reported that South Sudan could be admitted as early as November 2015 when the heads of East African States had their summit meeting. South Sudan was eventually approved for membership to the bloc in March 2016, and signed a treaty of accession in April 2016. It had six months to ratify the agreement, which it did on 5 September, at which point it formally acceded to the community. It does not yet participate to the same extent as the other members.


Democratic Republic of the Congo's accession

In 2010, Tanzanian officials expressed interest in inviting the
DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
to join the East African Community. The DRC applied for admission to the EAC in June 2019. In June 2021, the EAC Summit launched a verification mission to assess the suitability of the DRC for admission to the Community, and has since drafted a report on their findings which is ready for submission to the EAC Council of Ministers. On 23 November 2021: Ministers in charge of East African Community (EAC) Affairs have recommended for consideration by the EAC Heads of States the report of the verification team on the application by The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to join the Community. In February 2022, the EAC Council of Ministers recommended that the DRC be admitted as a new member state of the EAC. On 18 March 2022, the EAC Secretary-General Peter Mathuki confirmed that the Heads of State would approve the admission on 29 March 2022. The Democratic Republic of the Congo was admitted as a member of the EAC on 29 March 2022, at a virtual Head of State summit chaired by Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, and officially became a member of the East African Community on 11 July 2022 after depositing the instrument of ratification with the EAC Secretary General at the bloc's headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The accession of the DRC gives the EAC its first port on the
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
n coast.


Somalia's accession

Representatives of Somalia applied for membership in the EAC in March 2012. The application was considered by the EAC Heads of State in December 2012, which requested that the EAC Council work with Somalia to verify their application. In February 2015, the EAC again deliberated on the matter but deferred a decision as verification had not yet started nor had preparations with the Somali government been finalised. During the 22nd Ordinary EAC Heads of State Summit on 22 July 2022, the EAC Heads of State, noted that the verification process for Somalia to join the community needs to be completed expeditiously. In 2023, East African Community (EAC) Secretary-General Peter Mathuki said Somalia had made a critical step towards becoming the eighth member of the bloc, with negotiations on admission set to last from 22 August to 5 September. Somalia was formally invited to join on 24 November 2023 during the 23rd ordinary summit of the heads of state, following a five-hour closed-door meeting. The treaty of accession was signed on 15 December 2023 at the presidential residence in Kampala, Uganda, with Somalia having 6 months to complete its ratification of the treaty after which it would officially become a member. On February 10, 2024, Somalia's Parliament endorsed the treaty of accession. Somalia deposited its instruments of ratification on 4 March 2024, thus becoming the eighth member of the organisation.


Partner states


Potential expansion


Comoros

In July 2023 Kenyan President
William Ruto William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 January 1967) is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected Deputy President of Kenya, ...
raised the idea of
Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...
joining the EAC while signing an agreement for deeper bilateral cooperation between Kenya and Comoros. Comoros and existing member Tanzania have a maritime border.


Djibouti

With Somalia set to join the group in October 2023, Secretary General Peter Mathuki stated, “The vision of our leaders is to have a market of 800 million people. And that will be possible if we integrate all the countries in the horn of Africa and make one huge market,” hinting of the possible accession of
Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...
and
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
.


Ethiopia

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta proposed expanding the EAC to include Central, Northern, and Southern African states, such as Ethiopia. The potential joining of Ethiopia into the EAC would bring the population to approximately 460 million. Speaking at the opening of the One Stop Border post in Moyale in 2020, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia affirmed his commitment to regional integration saying that the east African people are one people and economic integration is a key goal for the region to achieve so as to unlock its potential. With other horn of Africa countries like Somalia joining the EAC and the opening up of Ethiopia's sectors such as banking and telecommunications to the private sector, being part of the EAC could soon become a priority to accelerate economic gains. In April 2023, Secretary General Peter Mathuki suggested the EAC should consider admitting Ethiopia following Somalia's accession. On 8 April 2024, Ministry of EAC Arid and Semi-arid Lands and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza claimed the EAC and Ethiopia were in the final stages of negotiation for admission into the bloc. This was later contradicted by Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Nebiu Tedla who said that Ethiopia had made no request to join the EAC and that "the information is baseless."


Malawi

In 2010, Tanzanian officials expressed interest in inviting
Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...
to join the EAC. Former Malawian Foreign Affairs Minister Etta Banda said, however, that there were no formal negotiations taking place concerning Malawian membership.


Sudan

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
applied to join the EAC in 2011, with Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda supporting membership, while Tanzania and Uganda were opposed to it. They contended that because of the Sudan's lack of a direct border with the EAC at the time, its allegedly discriminatory actions toward black Africans, its record of human rights violations, and its history of hostilities with both South Sudan and Uganda, Sudan was ineligible to join and their application was rejected in December 2012.


EAC Organs

The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community established seven EAC Organs to perform the functions of the community.


The Summit

The Summit consists of the heads of state of each individual member country. The Summit gives "strategic direction towards the realization 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 Summit's decisions are arrived at by consensus. The Chairperson of the Summit's tenure is one year and is in rotation from among the partner states. At Summit meetings, the Summit reviews annual progress reports and other reports from the Council. The summit appoints East African Court of Justice judges, assents to bills, and admits new member or observer states. The Summit may delegate many but not all of its powers to lower organs at the discretion of the Summit. The President of Kenya,
William Ruto William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 January 1967) is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected Deputy President of Kenya, ...
, serves as the current EAC Summit Chairperson.


The Council

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 In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
of each Partner State. The Council meets twice a year, one time directly after the Summit and once later in the year. The Council can also meet at the request of the Council Chairperson or member state. The Council main function is to implement decisions made by the Summit. The Council initiates and submits Bills to the Assembly, gives directions to the Partner States, and makes regulations, issues directives, and makes recommendations to all other organs (except the Summit, the Court, and the Assembly). The Council also can establish Sectoral Committees from amongst its members to implement specific directives. Deng Alor Kuol, the Minister for East African Community Affairs in South Sudan, is the current Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers. This position of Lead Council Chairperson is elected by the Head of State, and is replaced annually.


The Coordination Committee

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 Coordination Committee implements the directives decided by the Council and recommends the creation of Sectoral Committees to the Council. The current acting Principal Secretary of the Coordinating Committee is Dr. Kevit Desai of Kenya.


East African Court of Justice

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 provided there are no more than two judges of a member state on the First Instance Division and no more than one judge of a member state on the Appellate Division. The court is composed of a maximum of fifteen judges with no more than ten of the First Instance Division and no more than five of the Appellate Division. Each Judge may serve for no more than seven years and holds office until that period expires, death, reaching seventy years-of-age, or removal for misconduct by the Summit after deliberation from a tribunal, bankruptcy, or conviction. Upon suspension, the judge's member state recommends a qualified candidate for appointment to temporary judge. If a judge has a conflict-of-interest, they are to report to their higher-up for deliberation on their ability to fairly judge. The court has jurisdiction over cases involving interpretation and application of the treaty, other jurisdiction as designated by the Summit, member states that consider another member state or EAC Organ to have failed obligations under the treaty, and disputes between the EAC and its employees. The Summit, the Council, or a Partner State may also request the Court to give an advisory opinion on an issue regarding the Treaty. Currently, the court meets on a quarterly basis — the First Instance Division four times a year and the Appellate Division four times a year. This sparse schedule caused by budgetary issues has created a backlog of 260 cases.


East African Legislative Assembly

The
East African Legislative Assembly The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is a sub-organ of the larger East African Community, being the legislative arm of the Community. Members are sworn into five-year terms. History Since colonial times, a number of organizations have ...
(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. The EALA has oversight functions on all matters that fall within the community's work and its functions include debating and approving the budget of the community, discussing all matters pertaining to the community and making recommendations to the council as it may deem necessary for the implementation of the treaty, liaising with National Assemblies or Parliaments on matters pertaining to the community and establishing committees for such purposes as it deems necessary. The Assemblypersons have a term of five years and a term limit of two. The EALA meets at least once a year and since being inaugurated in 2001, the EALA has had several sittings as a plenum in Arusha, Kampala, and Nairobi. Any member may introduce a bill and upon a simple majority vote, the bill proceeds to the Heads of State in which if any Head of State declines to assent within three months, the bill heads back to the EALA for editing. As of August 2024, the Speaker of the Assembly is Dan Kidega from Uganda. He replaced former Speaker of the Assembly and Ugandan MP Margaret Zziwa after her impeachment. She had succeeded Abdirahin Haithar H. Abdi from Kenya. The assembly has been credited with crucial bills, particularly those regarding regional and international trade, including EAC's stand on issues such as the
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
and transport on
Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...
.


The Secretariat

The Secretariat is the executive organ of the EAC. The highest office of the Secretariat is the Secretary General. The Secretary General is appointed by the summit upon nomination by the current rotational head of state and serves one five-year fixed term. The Secretariat also contains the offices of the Deputy Secretaries General appointed by the Summit and under the purview of the Secretary General. The Secretariat's principle function is the implementation of the decisions of the Summit and the Council with other functions including research on best methods to achieve the EAC treaty's goals, management of funds, and investigation of EAC affairs. Veronica Nduva is the current Secretary General of the EAC, having been appointed 7 June 2024 following Kenya's recall of former EAC Secretary-General Peter Mathuki for alleged misallocation of six million in funds from the Peace Fund at the Secretariat.


EAC Institutions

There are eight current Heads of EAC Institutions. Vivienne Yeda Apopo of Zambia is the current acting Director-General of East African Economic Development and has had this position since 2009. Dr. Novat Twungubumwe of Burundi is the current acting Attorney General and Executive Secretary East African Health Research Commission. Dr. Sylvance Okeyo Okoth is the Executive Secretary of the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO). Dr. Caroline Asiimwe of Uganda is the serving Executive Secretary of the East African Kiswahili Commission. Prof. Gaspard Banyankimbona of Uganda is the serving Executive Secretary of the Inter-University Council for East Africa. Eng. Richard Gatete of Rwanda is the serving executive director of the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency. Lilian K. Mukoronia of Kenya is the acting Registrar of the East African Community Competition Authority. Dr. Masinde K. Bwire is the serving Executive Secretary Lake Victoria Basin Commission.


Issues


Support

An EAC political union committee conducted a study on the support for the planned political union in the then-five member states from 2007 to 2009. Except for Tanzania, these committees found that the majority of their populations were in favour of further integration. While the committee continued to study integration until 2012, enthusiasm for the idea waned. Surveying of Tanzania in 2012 by independent research group Afrobarometer revealed that 70% of Tanzanians approved of free movement of people, goods, and services. Meanwhile, 55% of Tanzanians approve the customs union and 54% approve of the proposed monetary union. On all three issues, share of people answering "Don't Know" has more than halved since 2008 indicating higher rates of civic engagement on EAC issues. Approval of a joint army went from 26% in 2008 to 38% in 2012, with the majority (53%) still disapproving. In Kenya, approval for the free movement of people, goods, and services was at 52% as of 2021. Support for the monetary union sat at 49%, with 44% disapproving. 65% of those with no lived poverty approved of the free movement policy while only 44% of those with high lived poverty supported it. Surveying in May 2015 in Uganda found that 69% support free movement across borders in the region. In Burundi, 64% supported free movement among the region. A combined 56% of Ugandans thought the EAC "helps a lot", "helps somewhat", or "helps a little" in their country. 71% of Kenyans thought the EAC helps in some capacity while 57% of Tanzanians thought the EAC helps in some capacity. Awareness of EAC Organs in Kenya is low; 43% had heard nothing of the EALA, with only 29% hearing "some" or "a great deal". 47% of Kenyans said that their EALA representatives should be elected directly instead of elected by the Kenyan Parliament. Much of the support for East African integration comes from the national elites. Old enough to remember the former EAC, many are nostalgic for that period of East African politics and regret its eventual dissolution.David Booth, Diana Cammack, Thomas Kibua and Josaphat Kwek (2007
East African integration: How can it contribute to East African development?
Overseas Development Institute ODI Global (formerly Overseas Development Institute) is a global affairs think tank, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the ...
However, 61% of the 18-25 demographic supported free movement in Kenya while only 43% of the 46-55 demographic supported it. This could be due to a growing sense of East African identity in the youth developing from modern communications. The group with highest support for free movement in Kenya was those with
post-secondary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational school ...
, with 73% supporting.


Budget deficit

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. All other member states have significant arrears of some kind: as of April 2025, the DRC owes US$20.7 million, Burundi US$16 million, South Sudan US$15.1 million, Rwanda $2 million. The DRC which, despite accessing in 2019, had yet to remit a cent until it remitted US$1 million to the EAC in 2024. In the 2023–24 fiscal year, arrears amounted to over US$35 million. Reasons for these arrears are primarily due to two factors: * Failure to enforce contributions via sanctions outlined in the treaty * Member states's contributions to the budget are equal despite their varying sizes and GDPs The equal-share model was adopted when the EAC comprised only Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, and may no longer be sustainable. An alternate payment model has been proposed 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 Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance ...
in the past five years. EALA Chairperson of the Budget Committee Ken Mukulia suggests amendments to the EAC legal instruments to distribute power according to size of contribution should accompany the new financing model. Additionally, auctioning stranded goods in the ports of
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
and
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
slated for the three major defaulters has been suggested as a method of paying off their debt. Both Mukulia and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have proposed sanctioning defaulting member states. Despite calls for reform, the financial year 2024/2025 EAC budget will be contributed to equally. 61% of that budget will be equally contributed from member states or raised by internal revenue while 39% will be sourced from development partners. The budget for financial year 2024/25 is US$112.98 million, a 8.7% increase from last
financial year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...
. The majority of this increase has been attributed to Somalia's accession. As of 25 November 2024, only US$13.3 million of the $89.5 million budget for financial year 2024/2025 has been remitted. Chairperson of the EALA Budget Committee Ayason Mukulia stated that the failure in remission may stem from hesitancy following the misallocation of US$6 million in funds from the Secretariat by former Secretary General Peter Mathuki. Member states have reportedly refused to remit funds until a full
audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...
is conducted. The budget deficits have lead to a slowdown in community operations. The EALA has had to skip sessions due to lack of resources and the EACJ has a backlog of 260 cases due to its sporadic meeting schedule. Because of the lack of funds, the EACJ only meets quarterly — the First Instance Division meets four times a year and the Appellate Division too four times a year. There are 150 staff vacancies and hiring has been frozen since 2024. 30 more senior officers are set to leave in July after their contracts expire.


DRC-EAC tensions


The M23 offensive

The
March 23 Movement The March 23 Movement (), often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army (), is a Congolese Rwandan-backed rebel paramilitary group. Based in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it operates ...
, a Congolese rebel military group composed mostly of ethnic
Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...
, waged a
rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
in the northeastern DRC from 2012 to 2013. M23 was formed by deserters of the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) who had previously been members of the CNDP rebel group and been dissatisfied with the conditions of their service. Both the CNDP as well as the March 23 Movement's first rebellion were supported by Rwanda and Uganda. A
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
report found that Rwanda created and commanded the M23 rebel group. Rwanda ceased its support because of international pressure and the military defeat by the DRC and the UN in 2013. After agreeing to a peace deal, M23 was largely dismantled, its fighters disarmed and moved into refugee camps in Uganda. In 2017, an M23 splinter group fled Uganda to
Kivu Kivu is the name for a large region in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that borders Lake Kivu. It was a ''Région'' (read 'province') of the country under the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko from 1966 to 1988. As an official ''Région'' ...
to resume their insurgency, however, the operation achieved little as the M23 no longer enjoyed significant international support. Uganda and the DRC had greatly improved relations, cooperating against a common enemy in the
Allied Democratic Forces The Allied Democratic Forces (; abbreviated ADF) is a Ugandan Islamist rebel group based in western Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government and the United States. ...
during Operation Shujaa. In early 2022, a growing number of M23 combatants began leaving their camps and move back to the DR Congo; the rebel movement launched more attacks in February 2022, but these were repelled. The M23 leadership argued that parts of their movement had resumed the insurgency because the conditions of the 2013 peace deal were not being honored by the DRC government. The rebels also argued that they were attempting to defend Kivu's Tutsi minority from attacks by
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...
militants such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). This follows a long trend of Hutu-Tutsi violence, exemplified by the Burundi genocide of 1993 and the
Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...
of 1994, the latter having been stopped by current President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, an ethnic Tutsi who has remained in power over the Hutu-majority country since the end of the genocide. On 6 April 2022, the FARDC rejected any negotiations with the M23 forces based in the DR Congo, and started a counter-attack. However, as the FARDC was increasingly losing ground to the insurgents, the DRC government and a number of rebel groups held peace talks in
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
in late April, only for the offensive to resume in May. In late May, insurgents temporarily seized Rumangabo before it was retaken by the FARDC. According to independent researchers, the insurgents were supported by Rwandan soldiers during the battle for Rumangabo. Following months of attempts, on 13 June 2022, M23 captured the town of Bunagana. FARDC spokesman Sylvain Ekenge declared that the fall of Bunagana constituted "no less than an invasion" by Rwanda. Two senior Congolese security sources and members of the Congolese parliament also accused Uganda of supporting the rebel offensive. The Congolese MPs claimed that the retreat of the
Uganda People's Defense Force The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–4 ...
before the rebel attack had facilitated the takeover of Bunagana. The DRC ended military cooperation with Uganda, leading to Uganda subsequently halting Operation Shujaa. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta responded to the fall of Bunagana and the growing regional tensions by calling for the EAC to immediately organize a new peacekeeping mission called the East African Community Regional Force to restore security in the eastern DR Congo. An EAC meeting was organized in Nairobi to discuss the diplomatic tensions between the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda, as well as the deployment of a new peacekeeping force. The DRC declared that it would welcome an EAC peacekeeping mission but only under the condition of Rwanda's exclusion from the operation. The EAC subsequently called on M23 to retreat from Bunagana as precondition for a ceasefire, but the insurgents rejected the order. Anti-Rwandan protests broke out on 31 October in Goma, demanding that the DRC leave the EAC and that
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
intervene in the conflict. On 2 November, Kenya announced that it would send 900 soldiers to fight against the M23. The Ugandan military then joined the Kenyan troops in fighting the M23. On 28 December 2022, South Sudan sent a contingency of 750 troops to join the EACRF, to be stationed in
Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...
. Over the next few months, the EACRF made some ground, with various towns being ceded to the EACRF. On 3 April, Ugandan EACRF soldiers entered Bunagana. However, instead of taking the city, the EACRF coexisted with the rebel forces. A similar arrangement was also observed at Rumangabo, where Kenyans and M23 inhabited the same base, and along the Sake-Kilolirwe-Kitshanga-Mwesso axis, where Burundian and rebel forces operated next to each other. In October 2023, the DRC ordered the EAC force in the country to leave by 8 December, due to a "lack of satisfactory results on the ground". On 19 December 2023, the last of the EACRF forces had withdrawn from the Eastern DRC. To replace the EACRF, SADC forces on 15 December 2023 were deployed to the region to “restore peace and security in the eastern DRC”. Kenyan President William Ruto and Angolan President
João Lourenço João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço (born 5 March 1954) is an Angolan politician who is currently serving as the third president of Angola since 26 September 2017. Previously, he was the minister of defence from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018, ...
met in 8 January 2025 to discuss consolidating EAC and SADC efforts in peacemaking in the conflict area. In January 2025,
Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...
was again the target of a renewed offensive by the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels. The heads of state of both Rwanda and the DRC agreed to attend a peace summit hosted by Kenya at the invitation of President
William Ruto William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 January 1967) is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected Deputy President of Kenya, ...
. The emergency meeting, involving all East African Community member states, was held on 29 January 2025 with Rwanda's Kagame but not DRC's Tshisekedi, who cancelled his participation. The organisation called for an immediate ceasefire and for Congo to negotiate with the M23.


Rumours of DRC exit

At the 24th Ordinary Summit held in November 2024, Congolese President
Felix Tshisekedi Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...
, expected to take over as Summit Chairperson, neither attended nor sent a representative, with Kenyan President William Ruto elected to the position instead. This follows a series of absences by Tshisekedi, including the 23rd Extraordinary Summit, held on 7 June 2024 to appoint Veronica Mueni Nduva as Secretary General. Insiders at the Secretariat have stated that the DRC rarely takes part in meetings and as of 22 June 2024, the DRC has yet to align its legal instruments with the EAC as per the treaty. The DRC has implemented free movement of people however otherwise has not integrated to the extent the other member states have. The DRC is required to remit money yearly to the EAC as part of its membership; however, despite accessing in 2019, it had failed to remit a cent until 2024 when it remitted US$1 million to the EAC. The DRC still owes a total of US$20.7 million. Analysts have suggested that the DRC’s continued absence is a
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
in response to Kenyan President William Ruto’s stance on the M23 conflict. At a summit discussion on if the M23 were Rwandan or Congolese. Ruto said “the DRC told us: ‘They are Congolese.’ End of the debate. If they are Congolese, how does this become a Rwandan problem? How does this become a Kagame problem?” Former Foreign Minister of the DRC Christophe Lutundula said the DRC strategy was “to join the Eastern bloc, of course for regional integration and economic reasons, but also to better plead the Congo’s security cause, where Rwanda is making its voice heard,” suggesting that EAC accession to the EAC was in large part due to counteracting Rwanda's influence in the bloc. Congolese legislators in the EALA said the DRC was not considering quitting the EAC, but that the decision was up to President Tshisekedi. MP Bertran Ewanga, head of the DRC chapter of the EALA, suggested that additional tension arose from a statement by Kenyan President William Ruto during a state dinner with U.S. President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, although the specific statement that caused the tension is unknown. DRC Spokesman Patrick Muyaya said the peace in Kivu was taking too long to be realised and that “some Congolese are now questioning why we even asked to join the EAC.” He also said the DRC is "happier in the SADC than in the EAC," reflecting the EACRF's replacement at request of Tshisekedi with SADC forces. He also cited the war as a direct reason for the limited efforts in integration as Rwanda and Kenya are seen as supporters of the M23 rebellion. Tshisekedi recalled the ambassador of the DRC to Kenya in December 2023 and has yet to accredit the new Kenyan ambassador to the DRC due to disagreements surrounding the Congo River Alliance, a group including DRC politicians and various
secessionist Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
militias including the M23. Tshisekedi demanded that Kenya hand over any persons engaging in "subversive activities," to which Kenyan foreign minister
Musalia Mudavadi Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi (born 21 September 1960 in Vihiga County Kenya Colony) is a Kenyan politician and land economist who is currently serving as Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya, and since 2023, in an expanded role of Foreign & Diaspora ...
said “Kenya strongly disassociates itself from any utterances or activities likely to injure the peace and security of the friendly nation of DRC and has commenced an investigation.” Ultimately, Kenya found the statements to fall under constitutionally protected speech. The DRC's entry into the EAC was facilitated by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ruto's predecessor and a friend to Tshisekedi. Ruto is seen as reversing the positions that allowed the DRC to join in the first place. DRC Opposition leader Martin Fayulu has called the DRC’s membership in the EAC a “big mistake”. The EAC treaty has no provisions for the forcible exit of a member state, with only sanctions having been outlined. During the 7 June 2024 Summit, Paul Kagame called for a meeting of the Council of Ministers to discuss peace in the region. Despite conflicts, Secretary General Veronica Nduva said in November 2024 that the DRC is finalising a review of its policy and legal framework to align with EAC protocols, including waiving visa requirements for citizens of all EAC partner States.


Somali integration

As of July 2024, Somalia is active in an ongoing
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. The main insurgent group is the
Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
-linked,
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Islamist military Al-Shabaab. Although based in
Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
, its reach extends all the way to
Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...
, Uganda, where it killed 76 people in a
2010 Kampala bombings On 11 July 2010, suicide bombings were carried out against crowds watching a screening of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final at two locations in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The attacks left 74 dead and 85 injured. Al-Shabaab (militant group ...
. As a result of the ongoing civil war, Somalia topped the annual
Fragile States Index The Fragile States Index (FSI; formerly the Failed States Index) is an annual report mainly published and supported by the American think tank Fund for Peace. The FSI is also published by the American magazine ''Foreign Policy'' from 2005 to 201 ...
for six years from 2008 up to and including 2013. Troops from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti have fought Al-Shabaab since 2007, first as the African Union Mission to Somalia then as African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). However, as of July 2024, 5,000 soldiers have left Somalia as ATMIS prepares to leave Somalia by December 2024. Recently, Al-Shabaab have allied with the Ugandan rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces, trading arms and training for illegally-mined minerals from the Eastern DRC. Al-Shabaab has also created a sect of foreign fighters called the Muhajirin, including primarily Kenyan, Ethiopian and Tanzanian nationals, but also some Congoleses, Burundians, Rwandans and Ugandans. In 2024, Al-Shabaab recaptured much of the land captured by the retreating ATMIS. Most of Somalia operates independently from its federal government.
Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...
, an internationally unrecognized state within the borders of Somalia, released a statement following Somalia’s accession into the EAC stating that the “decision is a clear violation of Somaliland's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and called for the EAC, the
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
, and the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
to recognize their statehood. In addition,
Puntland Puntland is an autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and was a federal member state of Somalia from its fou ...
has temporarily withdrawn until the constitutional amendments concentrating power under president
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Somali language, Somali: ''Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud''; ; born 29 November 1955) is a Somali politician serving as the president of Somalia since 15 May 2022. He previously held the office from 2012 to 2017. Hassan was previo ...
are approved in a nationwide referendum. These conflicts have caused the federal government to control only around ten percent of its internationally-recognized territory as of May 2024.


Differences in modes of governance

Despite efforts at integration and standardizing governance, there remains significant political differences between the states. Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...
's success in obtaining his third-term amendment raised doubts in the other countries. The single-party dominance in the Tanzanian and Ugandan parliaments is unattractive to Kenyans, while Kenya's ethnic-politics remains absent in Tanzania. Rwanda has a distinctive political culture with a political elite committed to building a developmental state. These differences in modes of governance was exemplified when South Sudanese President
Salva Kiir Mayardit Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), commonly known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who is the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the List of heads of state of So ...
was appointed chairperson of the EAC in November 2023. This decision was criticized by some regional observers including Duop Chak Wuol, an influential South Sudanese analyst, who criticized the appointment of Kiir, seeing it as evidence of the EAC failure to uphold its moral obligations and accused the bloc of ignoring what he described as Salva Kiir's tyranny. Many have argued that support for East African integration from local politicians grants often corrupt politicians with the ability to present themselves as statesmen and representatives of a greater regional interest. Furthermore, EAC institutions bring significant new powers to dispose and depose to those who serve in them.


Economics


Importance of the customs union

The key aspects of the customs union include: # a Common External Tariff (CET) on imports from third countries; # duty-free trade between the member states; and # common customs procedures. Since July 2022, the CET has four main duty rates: # 35% duty on finished products # 25% duty on intermediate products available in the EAC region # 10% duty on intermediate products not available in the EAC region # 0% duty on raw materials and capital goods However rates still vary on some individual products, such as an 100% duty on
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
. There are also some additional "sensitive items" which exceed the 35% duty rate including
dairy product Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...
s,
maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
,
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
, and
woven fabric Woven fabric is any textile formed by weaving. Woven fabrics, often created on a loom, are made of many threads woven in a warp and weft. Technically, a woven fabric is any fabric made by interlacing two or more threads at right angles to one ano ...
s. Kenya was granted a temporary exception to the CET to import grain at a lower tariff to meet local demand and increase food security. The rules regulating what counts as a domestic vs foreign product is regulated by the Rules of Origin (RoO). The RoO is expected to be updated every five years however has not been updated since 2015. The customs union is not yet exercised in the full extent of the promise. For instance, Kenya still holds excise duties on many products, raising excise duty rates in 2023. And although Kenya recently loosened certain duties, they still haven't enacted full free movement of goods. This also means that countries outside of the EAC must still navigate local tax and duties opposed to a singular tax policy, simplifying the process of investing in EAC member states. For EAC internal trade in the third quarter of 2023, Tanzania was the biggest exporter with US$798.12 million, Uganda was the biggest importer with US$649.3 million, and Rwanda had the highest internal EAC in trade deficit of US$375.23 million. Intra-regional trade currently stands at 15% of EAC trade according to Summit Chairman Salva Kiir, which was deemed unsatisfactory.


Common market

On 1 July 2010, the EAC launched the Common Market Protocol, an expansion of the bloc's existing customs union that entered into effect in 2005. Corruption has led to some integration initiatives being underfunded. The full adoption of the common market has been undermined by continued protectionism between member states, with decisions driven by political pressures on national leaders slowing down the implementation of commitments to integration, even within founding members. Bilateral political tensions have led to border controls in some periods, further undermining the shared labour market. In 2024, Rwanda closed its borders with Burundi and the DRC, after a previous three-year closure of its border with Uganda in 2019. In January 2023, Burundi closed its border with Rwanda after President Evariste Ndayishimiye accused Rwanda of hosting and training the RED-Tabara rebel group. Despite border closings, an immense amount of inter-EAC migration is still occurring; From July to December 2023, around 376,000 citizens emigrated to Rwanda from other EAC member states, including around 76,500 Burundians. In turn, Burundi received around 251,500 citizens from other EAC member states, including 110,500 Rwandans. South Sudan received 69,584 citizens, half of which were from Uganda. In 2010, the introduction of "third generation" ID cards was planned. These cards identify the holder as a dual citizen of their home country and of "East Africa". Third generation cards are already in use in Rwanda with Kenya set to introduce them in July 2010 and the other countries following afterwards. An East African passport was launched on 1999 in the original three countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The 17th Ordinary Summit held on 2 March 2016 launched the East African electronic passport. Tanzania started issuing the EA e-passport on 31 January 2018; Kenya and Burundi on 28 May 2018; Uganda on 18 December 2018 and Rwanda on 28 June 2019. South Sudan, the DRC and Somalia are still establishing the legal framework to start issuing the document. Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, allow citizens to travel within their territories using a national ID as a travel document. Kenya in December 2024 introduced the Class R work permit allowing any EAC national to work in Kenya free of charge. Tanzania, DRC, Somalia, Burundi, and South Sudan still charge EAC nationals for work permits. Mutual recognition and accreditation of higher education institutions is also being worked towards as is the harmonisation of social security benefits across the EAC.


Emerging business trends

Business leaders are far more positive than economists about the benefits of EAC integration, its customs union as a step in the process, as well as the wider integration under COMESA. The larger economic players perceive long-term benefits in a progressively expanding regional market. Patterns of regional development are already emerging, including: * Kenyan firms have successfully aligned to the lower protection afforded by the EAC CET and fears that firms would not adjust to a 25% maximum CET, or would relocate to Tanzania or Uganda have not been realised. * An intraregional division of labour is developing, which results in basic import-processing relocating to the coast to supply the hinterland. The final stages of import-processing (especially those bulky finished goods that involve high transportation costs) and natural-resource based activities are moving up-country and up-region, either within value chains of large companies or different segments located by firms in different countries. * Trade in goods and services has already increased as service provision to Kenyans and Tanzanians is already important for Uganda (in education and in health). Kenya exports financial services, for example via the Kenya Commercial Bank and purchase and upgrading of local operators in Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan. Uganda hopes integration will help support its tourism potential through integration with established regional circuits. * There are signs of a business culture oriented to making profits through economies of scale and not on protectionism. * Kenya historically has been the leader in intraregional trade. For the first time in 2024, Tanzania overtook Kenya's position, leading regional trade. Due to the DRC's accession into the EAC, Congolese in
Kisangani Kisangani (), formerly Stanleyville (), is the capital of Tshopo, Tshopo Province, located on the Congo River in the eastern part of the central Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's fifth-most populous urban a ...
and Goma are now receiving their goods through ports in Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. The success of this new trade route has caused the DRC and South Sudan to integrate revenue systems to streamline cargo documentation, hastening the rate at which goods are cleared through the Port of Mombassa. The eastern region of the DRC currently has plentiful mining operations, in particular the mining of
Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...
. The mining sector of the EAC contributes around 2.3% of the GDP, with
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
being the second highest exported product following
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...
in the fourth quarter of 2023. In the Southeastern DRC lays the
copperbelt The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the south eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining and is the second largest global reserve of copper, ...
, known for its
copper mining Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from list of copper ores, its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with coun ...
. The copper is currently majority exported via road with the exception of the Lobito Atlantic Railway, which stretches from the Lobito,
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
to Kolwezi. However, the Lobito Corridor project, with $250 million in U.S. financial investment, would construct around 550 km (350 miles) of railway in
Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...
along the Zambia-DRC border, with feeder roads connecting DRC copper mines to the new railway.


Trade negotiations

On 16 July 2008, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the EAC signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, strengthening United States-EAC trade. The U.S. exported $1.1 billion and imported $1.3 billion from the EAC in 2022. This shifted the net goods traded from a total trade deficit of $211 million in 2021 to a trade surplus of $135 million in 2022. In Q4 2024, the EAC exported US$6.3 Billion. Out of trade partners, the top five were
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, and
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. The top importer of EAC goods was the UAE and the top source of inputed goods was China. Trade with COMESA accounted for 11.5% of total EAC Trade while trade with SADC accounted for 12.9. On 2 December 2024,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and the EAC signed a development cooperation agreement committing 64€ million from Germany to be invested in the EAC. Out of that, 23€ million goes towards pandemic preparedness and combatting disease and 5€ million goes towards environmental conservation.


Poverty reduction

EAC that have economies have large informal sectors, unintegrated with the formal economy and large business. The concerns of large-scale manufacturing and agro-processing concerns are not broadly shared by the bulk of available labour. Research suggest the promised investments on the conditions of life of the region's overwhelmingly rural poor will be slight, with the significant exception of agro-industrial firms with out-grower schemes or that otherwise contribute to the co-ordination of
smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...
production and trade. It is informal trade across borders that is most often important to rural livelihoods and a customs union is unlikely to significantly impact the barriers that this faces and taxes are still being fixed separately by countries. However, the introduction of one-stop border posts being introduced and the reduction in tariff barriers are coming down progressively. The establishment of a common market will create both winners (numerous food producers and consumers on both sides of all borders) and losers (smugglers and the customs, police and local government officers who currently benefit from bribery at and around the borders) in the border areas. More substantial impact could be attained by a new generation of investments in world-market production based on the region's comparative advantages in natural resources (especially mining and agriculture) and the new tariff structure creates marginally better conditions for world-market exporters, by cheapening inputs and by reducing upward pressures on the exchange rate.


Plans

The new treaty was proposed with plans drawn up in 2004 to introduce a
monetary union A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration (such as an economic and monetary union ...
with a common currency some time between 2012 and 2015. There were also plans for a
political union A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal gove ...
, the East African Federation, with a common President (initially on a rotation basis) and a common parliament by 2010. However, some experts, like those based in the public think tank Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), noted that the plans were too ambitious to be met by 2010 because a number of political, social and economic challenges are yet to be addressed. The proposal was the subject of National Consultative discussions, and a final decision was to be taken by the EAC Heads of State in mid-2007.Sunday Nation (Business Sunday) – 2007
In 2013, a protocol was signed outlining their plans for launching a monetary union within 10 years. There are concerns that rapid integration would enflame popular reactionary politics against the project. However it's also been argued that, with high costs that would be required at the beginning, fast-tracking the project would allow the benefits to be seen earlier. Given the infrastructure problems that persist in the fledgling country since South Sudanese President Salva Kiir cut off oil commerce with Sudan, the state has decided to invest in constructing pipelines that circumvent Sudan's, which it had been using until that time. These new pipelines would extend through Ethiopia to the ports of Djibouti, as well as to the southeast to the coast of Kenya. In September 2018, a committee was formed to begin the process of drafting a regional constitution. In January 2023, the Secretary-General of the East African Community announced plans to issue a single currency within the next four years. The Council of Ministers of the organization must decide on the location of the East African Monetary Institute and the establishment of a roadmap for the issuance of the single currency.


Coalition of the Willing

A "Coalition of the Willing", made up of Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, began a number of initiatives amongst themselves including joint railway and oil pipeline projects, a joint tourist visa, and a defence and security pact, to get around reluctance from other members. However, even within this grouping, progress on projects has been delayed. Bilateral friction between members, a lack of enthusiasm, and political instability have been the primary reasons behind the delaying and weakening of integration efforts.


Single tourist visa

It had been hoped that an East African Single Tourist Visa may have been ready for November 2006, if it was approved by the relevant sectoral authorities under the EAC's integration programme. Had it been approved, the visa would have been valid for all three current member states of the EAC (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda). Under the proposal for the visa, any new EAC single visa could be issued by any member state's embassy. The visa proposal followed an appeal by the tourist boards of the partner states for a common visa to accelerate promotion of the region as a single tourist destination and the EAC Secretariat wanted it approved before November's World Travel Fair (or World Travel Market) in London. When approved by the EAC's council of ministers, tourists could apply for one country's entry visa which would then be applicable in all regional member states as a single entry requirement initiative. A single East African Tourist Visa for the EAC countries of Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda has been available since 2014.


Demographics

The population of the constituent parts of the EAC is composed of 65% under 30-year-olds. This youth bulge is anticipated to grow to 75% of the population under the age of 25 in this region by 2030. The East African Community's current urban population stands at about 20%.


Languages

English is the official language of the EAC. Kiswahili was designated for development as the
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
of the community in 2000 with French added as a lingua franca in 2021. Given this, there is an ongoing effort to elevate French to an official language, with
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the EAC signing an agreement in March 2020 to elevate French as an official language of the EAC alongside English. France is financing around €42,500 toward the project, which has seen delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Numerous local languages are also spoken: for example, there are 56 local languages spoken in
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
, 125 in Tanzania, 72 in South Sudan and 67 local languages in Kenya.
Kinyarwanda Kinyarwanda, Rwandan or Rwanda, officially known as Ikinyarwanda, is a Bantu language and the national language of Rwanda. It is a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language that is also spoken in adjacent parts of the Democratic Republic of the ...
is spoken in
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
and Uganda. There are over 200 local languages spoken in the DRC. Lingala is widely spoken in the western Democratic Republic of Congo, with about 15 million speakers and Kiswahili with 23 million speakers across the country.


Comparison with other regional blocs


See also

* List of East African Community sub regions by Human Development Index * 17th EAC Extra Ordinary summit * CASSOA * EAC Railway Masterplan * East African Federation * East African Community Treaty * East African School of Taxation *
Economy of Africa An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with ...
* List of Trade blocs * International Conference on the Great Lakes Region *
Intergovernmental Authority on Development The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is an eight-country trade bloc in Africa. It includes governments from the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes. It is headquartered in Djibouti. Formation The Intergovern ...
(IGAD) *
Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Goals The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...
(SADC) *
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...
(COMESA) * Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) *
Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...
(ECOWAS) * Rules of Origin *
Market access In international trade, market access refers to a company's ability to enter a foreign market by selling its goods and services in another country. Market access is not the same as free trade, because market access is normally subject to condition ...
* Free-trade area * Tariffs


Notes


References


External links

*
East African Community in Europe

German and East African Community Cooperation

EAC Free Trade Agreement

''Agritrade'' Agricultural trade in East Africa
{{Authority control 1967 establishments in Africa 1977 disestablishments in Africa 2000 establishments in Africa African Union Arusha Customs unions East Africa Economy of Burundi Economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Economy of Kenya Economy of Rwanda Economy of South Sudan Economy of Tanzania Economy of Uganda Foreign relations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign relations of Kenya Foreign relations of Rwanda Foreign relations of South Sudan Foreign relations of Tanzania Foreign relations of Uganda International organizations based in Africa Regional Economic Communities of the African Union Trade blocs