Experts see six-month delay in common market benefits

East Africans will have to wait until July next year to start enjoying the fruits of the common market, trade experts said, citing the turbulent path of ratification that the protocol establishing it has to go through in each member state.

Expectation has been high that the common market, due to be officially launched in January, would bear fruits with the immediate opening of national borders to allow the free movement of goods and services.

But in a twist that may keep business waiting for the fruits of integration till July next year, senior government officials said the signing of the common market protocol later this month will only have the effect of taking the work from the hands of the technical team that has been crafting it to the secretariat to kick-start the political process of its adoption by national governments.

“The secretariat is expected to send the signed protocol to national governments for ratification according to their national laws,” David Nalo, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of East African Cooperation, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Each member state has different procedures for adopting changes of constitutional nature into their national laws.

Member states will have six months to ratify the common market protocol after its signing by the heads of state.

That makes July 1 the earliest date by which East Africans could enjoy the fruits of the common market.

Though the business community may see that time frame as pull-back on the journey to closer integration, trade experts said the six month window would be critical to countries like Rwanda and Burundi that have been running a crash integration programme since they joined the bloc two years ago.

The two countries were admitted to the EAC in July 2007 - seven years after Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda revived the integration project – on condition that the proceed at the same pace as other member states.

“While the region has a defined roadmap for incorporating the two, Rwanda has proved that it can run with the old boys and is even ahead,” said Mr Nalo.

Kigali’s interest in the integration project is seen to be driven by the hope that it will help Rwanda address the human resource challenges to its economy.

Unlike the three founder members that are English speaking, Rwanda and Burundi speak French adding language barrier to the many challenges they have with the integration project.

Even more challenging has been the fact that EAC is gearing up for a common currency at a time when the new entrants are still propping up their institutions to bring them to a level where they could integrate with their counterparts in key areas of revenue collection, movement of capital and monetary policy management.

A recent study commissioned by the EAC secretariat to evaluate the impact of the customs union indicates that Burundi is the only member state that lost revenue with its entry into the customs union.