Tap the potential of EAC
The growth and expansion of the East African Community (EAC) presents an opportunity for cooperation and development of the member states. Of importance is the vast market for trade to boost prosperity.
Cooperation is the best way to discourage the common on-and-off trade disputes sparked by rivalry between neighbours that adversely affects transactions, hampering the potential mutual benefit.
It is exciting to note that Kenya’s exports to the EAC hit a record Sh85.2 billion in the quarter to September 2024. This was enhanced by shipments from Somalia following its entry into the bloc in December 2023.
Somalia imported Sh5 billion Kenyan goods and services during the period, uplifting the regional transactions. Had Somalia not come in, Kenya’s exports to the bloc would have dropped by five per cent or Sh4.2billion to Sh80.2 billion.
From a market of nearly 200 million made up of the original EAC members – Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania – and later Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, the entry of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia has hugely expanded the population. DR Congo alone has a population of more than 110 million.
Last year, Rwanda’s imports from Kenya rose by Sh778 million, or 6.7 per cent, to Sh12.4 billion, while DR Congo’s improved by Sh523 billion to Sh8.1 billion. Uganda remains the top destination for Kenyan merchandise.
EAC member states enjoy free movement of goods and people, and preferential trade under the bloc’s common market and customs’ union protocols. The EAC Customs Union Protocol, the bloc’s first integration breakthrough which came into force in 2005, allows the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour within the bloc.
The eastern African region’s vast potential is evident in the population of more than 507 million, which is a vast market for trade and investment for the mutual benefit of the countries.
