Tanzania lone ranger in EAC integration bid

• Tanzania has been in the regional news for their stand against the other East African Community states, especially Kenya. They recently, increased the work permit fees for East Africans arguing that the bloc has not reached the integration level that would support free movement of labour.
• Apart from making it expensive for other East Africans to work in Tanzania, the country has also been accused of reportedly lighting fires on the wildlife migratory corridors to prevent the wildebeest from migrating into Kenya.
• Then there was the bus accident involving Kenyans who were travelling to Tanzania on a religious mission. It was reported that the public at scene of the accident demanded cash in order to help the victims.

Regional news indicates that competition is rising among East African nations.

One of the recent surprises was the Ugandan athlete Stephen Kiprotich who won the country a gold in the Olympics since the last one 40 years ago.

This made the Ugandans so proud sending the whole nation into a celebration. The fact that the athlete has Kenyan roots confirms that apart from suffering brain drain as brilliant Kenyans settle for jobs abroad, the country also suffers from ‘leg drain’ as the best runners choose to work and run for other countries.

The good news here is that this suggests a greater level of integration while providing some food for thought to Kenya on how to keep the best talents home.

Kiprotich’s achievement can also have some dividends in tourism circles across the region. The win was also one of the surprises at the London 2012 Olympic Games, earning a place among the best 10 CNN moments at the event.

For business, the lesson should be that you should always respect for your competition. I overheard some Kenyans suggest that our athletes had been told by their coaches to keep an eye on any Ethiopian on the tracks but to their unpleasant surprise, competition also came from other countries including Uganda.

Another point to note is that Uganda is actually friendlier to Kenya than Tanzania, being landlocked means that they have to depend on the Mombasa port.

They are likely to wish Kenya well since our problems can easily escalate to Uganda. Kenya also played good host to Ugandans during bad times in the past and therefore, that heritage creates some positive energy between the two nations.

However, the relationship has not been smooth all through. For example, the recent Migingo Island dispute created a lot of furore among the citizens of the two countries.

Nevertheless, the two neighbours are working together to resolve the Somalia crisis.

Tanzania has been in the regional news for their stand against the other East African Community states, especially Kenya. They recently, increased the work permit fees for East Africans arguing that the bloc has not reached the integration level that would support free movement of labour.

Rwanda on the other hand, welcomed all East Africans to work there freely. Tanzania is thinking scarcity while Rwanda is thinking abundance, only time will tell which kind of thinking is more productive than the other.

Apart from making it expensive for other East Africans to work in Tanzania, the country has also been accused of reportedly lighting fires on the wildlife migratory corridors to prevent the wildebeest from migrating into Kenya. Creating barriers to prevent one of the greatest animal action scenes in the world from taking place did not work.

The wildebeest eventually crossed the borders to Maasai Mara for what is termed as the eighth wonder of the world to happen. The lesson here is that there is no greater force than that of an idea whose time has come.

Then there was the bus accident involving Kenyans who were travelling to Tanzania on a religious mission. It was reported that the public at scene of the accident demanded cash in order to help the victims.