EAC scrambles for more members, but at what cost?

The idea of fast-tracking membership in the East African community (EAC) is proving to be counterproductive after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) joined the bloc.

In 2007, Burundi and Rwanda were admitted to the EAC with the hope that they would adopt good governance practices. It didn’t happen.

In 2012, South Sudan and Somalia expressed interest in joining the bloc. South Sudan was admitted, not because it met the set threshold but, just like Burundi and Rwanda, it was emerging from a history of war and EAC leaders felt it was wise to admit it so that it would be easier to influence it to embrace peace from within.

In 2015, President Pierre Nkurunziza disobeyed the 2000 Arusha Accord and stood for a third, unconstitutional term.

The rest of the EAC leaders looked the other way as violence descended on Bujumbura.

In South Sudan, elections were supposed to be held in 2015 but voting has not happened and the EAC members have done nothing.

Somalia’s application was rejected because it is in turmoil even though South Sudan was admitted without meeting the threshold. Now the DRC has also joined without meeting the criteria outlined in Article 3 of the EAC Treaty.

Big Market 

Analysts say EAC member states have been eyeing the DRC’s market of 86.7 million people and were eager to have the vast country join the bloc. That is why the DRC application of June 2019 was fast-tracked.

The EAC heads of state summit directed the Council of Ministers to undertake the verification mission to Kinshasa and report to the next summit, while Somalia’s application, pending since 2012, was again pushed to the back burner.

Harold Acemah, a retired Ugandan diplomat, says the proposal to send a mission to the DRC was timely and it would help EAC avoid the mistake it made with South Sudan, which is not yet ready for full membership in the bloc.

“DRC has enormous economic and financial potential, which is good for EAC, but the political situation in DRC is fluid and fragile. One hopes that membership in EAC will help to stabilise the political situation in DRC,” says Mr Acemah.

However, he adds that the EAC leadership ought to have adopted proper assessment mechanisms before admitting DRC.

“First, the country is unstable, with civil unrest in some parts. The risk of these must be assessed,” he said.

There were precedents with Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan’s applications. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania argued that once admitted, the countries could be persuaded to pursue good governance. It didn’t happen with Burundi and has yet to bear fruit with Juba.

Juba Mistake 

The outgoing registrar of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Yufnanis Okubo — who was a member of the committee that toured South Sudan to assess the country’s readiness — says it was a mistake to admit South Sudan given what the committee gathered on the ground.

“Fast-tracking for DRC means closing minds to certain crucial things. The EAC will soon forget discussing crucial things and concentrate on the peace and security in eastern Congo. What it means is that the economic issues will be pushed to the back burner,” said Mr Okubo.

There are concerns that despite the 86.7 million people and the vast mineral resources, the DRC will drag EAC down, with members concentrating on the conflict in the east and not benefiting from what the Congo can offer.

Apparently, a number of EAC leaders are more concerned about what private business they can run in DRC than what the country offers to the bloc.

The 1999 EAC Treaty provides conditions for admission— including adherence to good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice.

Admission is also to be determined by potential members’ contribution to strengthening integration; geographical proximity to and inter-dependence between it and the partners; establishment and maintenance of a market-driven economy; and social and economic policies being compatible with those of the community.

The DRC shares a long border with Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan.

Since coming to power in 2019, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi has been keen to engage the EAC leaders, although the country is a member of the Economic Community of Central African States and the Southern African Development Community.

EAC Budget

Having been elected as the 2021 African Union chair in February and consulted on how to resolve the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, President Tshisekedi has found himself at the centre of eastern Africa economic and political issues.

When it comes to finances, the EAC has an annual budget of about $110 million. Partner states are required to contribute between $10 and $12 million each, with the rest coming from donors.

But it would be unfair to ask, for instance, Kenya, with a bigger economy, and Burundi, whose economy is almost equivalent to that of Kiambu County, to pay the same $10 to $12million.

This means that Burundi has defaulted several times and in some cases Kenya and Tanzania chip in on their behalf through bilateral arrangements. South Sudan has the resources, but it is still in conflict.

This means that EAC is perpetually in a financial crisis and the contributions are only used to pay salaries and not for the development agenda. It has been suggested that bigger economies should contribute more, just like Germany in the European Union.

As partner states continue to delay their contributions to the bloc, though financial years kicked off in July, the bloc’s business agenda is perpetually disrupted.

Each of the six partner states is supposed to contribute $8,371,320 annually but some are in arrears.

Development partners are expected to support the community to the tune of $54 million, with the money going directly to specific projects.

Partner states and other miscellaneous sources are supposed to contribute 52 percent of the budget, amounting to $57.4 million, while development partners are expected to contribute $54 million (48 percent).