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Raising regional economic hopes
• In full gear, the Common Market will allow goods to be sold across borders without any tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Goods will essentially be duty free so a trader in Uganda may decide to sell their products in Kenya or Tanzania and can do so without restrictions.
• Labour will also be able to move between states without fear of restriction or discrimination by a country other than their own. However, each regional citizen will be expected to continue using regional or national passports as a form of identification until all member states have introduced national identity cards for their citizens.
At exactly midnight this Thursday, East Africans will be ushered into a historic milestone of the Common Market opening up border points for a free flow of goods, services and labour. It will also allow for capital transfer and establishment of residences across borders with fewer barriers.
But all that is as far as signed papers say, it will take some time before the full benefits of the Common Market stream out to the last resident.
Across the region however, from Mombasa Port to Kigali, and from Bujumbura to Dar es Salaam, majority of East Africans have mixed sentiments about what it is and what it means for them to live in a single economic bloc. A lot of the negotiations and paperwork have been behind closed doors with little or no attempt to sensitise residents in the region.
“If people on the streets of Kampala still don’t know what this protocol is all about and others are not bothered whether it will be good or bad. Then we are not ready,” Kampala City Traders Association (Kacita) Spokesperson, Mr Issa Sekitto said.
Even some traders of Sekitto’s calibre still want duty barriers maintained ostensibly to protect local industries from being overshadowed by their more developed Kenyan counterparts.
Those in the know however say the region has just opened itself to greater internal competition, which should stimulate productivity, create more competitive jobs while allowing for labour to move to the highest bidder for its services, and position East Africa as a single negotiator against other trading blocs.
With about 130 million people, a combined Gross Domestic Product of over $73 billion, an average income per capita of $506, and with vast natural resources including recently discovered oil, the Common Market presents a formidable trading bloc to the rest of the world which if well exploited has the capacity to unlock the bolts of poverty and underdevelopment.
Most traders have interpreted the Common Market to mean wide open border points allowing them to import good from the region tax free. “It’s going to be an opportunity for me to network, find new markets and learn good practices of doing business especially taking Kenya’s experience or even Tanzania especially in the processing of fish,” Ms Grace Nanyonga, a fish processing proprietor says.
“We shall not be paying the taxes and that is good for business. Also we shall have the opportunity of getting so many customers moving freely to buy from us,” Mr Robert Kibuuka, a downtown trader in Kampala says.
“We thought the Common Market means the harmonisation of records in order to reduce on document processing. If this is not going to be the case then it means we are not ready for it,” Sekitto says.
Mr Moses Ogwal, manager on Policy at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, one of the few business bodies that are behind the negotiations for the protocol, is more cautious.
“This era is not going to be magical for the business person; there will be nothing free without following proper regulations. Implementing the Common Market will be progressive. What we will see moving freely are those goods that originate within the region. But they should be part of the market and exploit the advantages and work smart,” Ogwal says.
Subsequent to the signing of the protocol by the five EAC Heads of State on 20 November 2009, the Common Market protocol provides for a progressive implementation of free movement of goods, services, persons, capital and workers; the right of establishment and residence.
Freedoms
At its full blast, the Common Market will allow goods to be sold across borders without any tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Goods will essentially be duty free so a trader in Uganda may decide to sell their products in Kenya or Tanzania and can do so without restrictions.
Labour will also be able to move between states without fear of restriction or discrimination by a country other than their own. However, each regional citizen will be expected to continue using regional or national passports as a form of identification until all member states have introduced national identity cards for their citizens.
“EAC citizens will have the right to establish businesses in member states, work permits will be issued within specific time periods and many service providers will be able to supply their services to other partner countries and receive treatment equal to that of domestic providers,” Mr Eriya Kategaya, the First Deputy premier and minister of EAC Affairs told journalists last week in Kampala. He also dispelled fears that the Common Market is likely to open doors to land grabbing by foreigners.
“This is not true. Land is a key factor for production and a critical issue under the Common Market. Access and use of land will be governed by the national policies and laws of each partner state,” he added.
Labour
The movement of workers and professionals within the region will remain restricted with borders only being opened progressively- and in phases – in Uganda and Kenya this is going to be done by end of 2010, and much later in Tanzania.
Raising regional economic hopes
• In full gear, the Common Market will allow goods to be sold across borders without any tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Goods will essentially be duty free so a trader in Uganda may decide to sell their products in Kenya or Tanzania and can do so without restrictions.
• Labour will also be able to move between states without fear of restriction or discrimination by a country other than their own. However, each regional citizen will be expected to continue using regional or national passports as a form of identification until all member states have introduced national identity cards for their citizens.
At exactly midnight this Thursday, East Africans will be ushered into a historic milestone of the Common Market opening up border points for a free flow of goods, services and labour. It will also allow for capital transfer and establishment of residences across borders with fewer barriers.
But all that is as far as signed papers say, it will take some time before the full benefits of the Common Market stream out to the last resident.
Across the region however, from Mombasa Port to Kigali, and from Bujumbura to Dar es Salaam, majority of East Africans have mixed sentiments about what it is and what it means for them to live in a single economic bloc. A lot of the negotiations and paperwork have been behind closed doors with little or no attempt to sensitise residents in the region.
“If people on the streets of Kampala still don’t know what this protocol is all about and others are not bothered whether it will be good or bad. Then we are not ready,” Kampala City Traders Association (Kacita) Spokesperson, Mr Issa Sekitto said.
Even some traders of Sekitto’s calibre still want duty barriers maintained ostensibly to protect local industries from being overshadowed by their more developed Kenyan counterparts.
Those in the know however say the region has just opened itself to greater internal competition, which should stimulate productivity, create more competitive jobs while allowing for labour to move to the highest bidder for its services, and position East Africa as a single negotiator against other trading blocs.
With about 130 million people, a combined Gross Domestic Product of over $73 billion, an average income per capita of $506, and with vast natural resources including recently discovered oil, the Common Market presents a formidable trading bloc to the rest of the world which if well exploited has the capacity to unlock the bolts of poverty and underdevelopment.
Most traders have interpreted the Common Market to mean wide open border points allowing them to import good from the region tax free. “It’s going to be an opportunity for me to network, find new markets and learn good practices of doing business especially taking Kenya’s experience or even Tanzania especially in the processing of fish,” Ms Grace Nanyonga, a fish processing proprietor says.
“We shall not be paying the taxes and that is good for business. Also we shall have the opportunity of getting so many customers moving freely to buy from us,” Mr Robert Kibuuka, a downtown trader in Kampala says.
“We thought the Common Market means the harmonisation of records in order to reduce on document processing. If this is not going to be the case then it means we are not ready for it,” Sekitto says.
Mr Moses Ogwal, manager on Policy at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, one of the few business bodies that are behind the negotiations for the protocol, is more cautious.
“This era is not going to be magical for the business person; there will be nothing free without following proper regulations. Implementing the Common Market will be progressive. What we will see moving freely are those goods that originate within the region. But they should be part of the market and exploit the advantages and work smart,” Ogwal says.
Subsequent to the signing of the protocol by the five EAC Heads of State on 20 November 2009, the Common Market protocol provides for a progressive implementation of free movement of goods, services, persons, capital and workers; the right of establishment and residence.
Freedoms
At its full blast, the Common Market will allow goods to be sold across borders without any tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Goods will essentially be duty free so a trader in Uganda may decide to sell their products in Kenya or Tanzania and can do so without restrictions.
Labour will also be able to move between states without fear of restriction or discrimination by a country other than their own. However, each regional citizen will be expected to continue using regional or national passports as a form of identification until all member states have introduced national identity cards for their citizens.
“EAC citizens will have the right to establish businesses in member states, work permits will be issued within specific time periods and many service providers will be able to supply their services to other partner countries and receive treatment equal to that of domestic providers,” Mr Eriya Kategaya, the First Deputy premier and minister of EAC Affairs told journalists last week in Kampala. He also dispelled fears that the Common Market is likely to open doors to land grabbing by foreigners.
“This is not true. Land is a key factor for production and a critical issue under the Common Market. Access and use of land will be governed by the national policies and laws of each partner state,” he added.
Labour
The movement of workers and professionals within the region will remain restricted with borders only being opened progressively- and in phases – in Uganda and Kenya this is going to be done by end of 2010, and much later in Tanzania.
