Whichever way one looks at it, the never-ending trade war between Kenya and Tanzania now sounds like a broken record.
Nairobi and Dar es Salaam are once again at it, the former having imposed new tariffs on the latter’s products in retaliation against Tanzania reneging on an earlier deal that granted Kenyan-made confectionery unrestricted entry into its market.
The fresh row between the two countries comes barely weeks after they declared an end to the trade war.
These back-and-forth bilateral ties do not augur well with the effort to boost social, political and economic ties among the East African Community member states.
Also pending are the numerous non-tariff barriers that continue to dog the two neighbours hindering the free movement of people, especially labour. Kenya and Tanzania should get back to the drawing board for soul searching and determine whether their actions are helping unite the bloc or setting stage for the history to repeat itself.
It’s not lost on observers that a similar dispute between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam resulted in the collapse of the original EAC in the 1970s, largely due to ideological differences between the two nations with each seeking to protect its socio-economic interests.
Leaders in the regional bloc should work to iron out any differences among the member states.
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