Mr Abdirahin Haithar Abdi the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has expressed deep concern over the slow pace of East African integration initiatives.
Mr Abdi argues that unless the governments in the economic bloc change the strategies in implementing major decisions made, the dream of a fully integrated EA would remain a dream for many years to come.
Addressing journalists in Bujumbura, Mr Abdi cited the East African Community (EAC) Common Market Protocol which, he says, has not been operationalised because of failure by governments to swiftly implement what is in the document that its officials ratified.
He said under the protocol signed by all the partner states in November 2009 and which came into force in July last year, regional laws were to be enacted to oversee its implementation but instead the member countries opted to harmonise their legislations for the purpose.
The Speaker wondered if any of the provisions contained in the Common Market Protocol were already operational, saying harmonisation of the laws among the partner states to accommodate the common market provisions was not likely to be completed in the near future.
Mr Abdi, speaking ahead of key meetings of the regional leaders in the Burundi capital next week, said Rwanda was the only state among the five countries in the bloc which had started to change its laws on immigration to conform to the requirements of the Protocol.
Kenya has yet to amend at least 25 laws. Elsewhere, the EAC member states have delayed the process on the pretext of looking for annextures to change the laws but in reality not doing anything tangible on the matter.
“Many people have now started to ask; Do we have a Common Market Protocol in place?”, he queried, noting that in reality the protocol was still on paper because some governments have failed to implement its provisions or were delaying the process for unclear reasons.
He affirmed that failure to implement various protocols and treaties under the Community was denying the nationals of East Africa rights such as free movement across the borders but, more specifically, the economic benefits such as employment and setting up business in various countries within the region.
The Speaker, responding to a barrage of questions from journalists from across the region, defended the manner under which the current members of Eala are elected, saying it was within the laws and procedures contained in the Treaty that established the EAC.
He emphasised that the system would not change unless the Treaty was amended. Under the current structure, Eala members from each partner state are elected by the National Assemblies of the respective countries under the procedures determined by the parliament of each country.
“The procedure would change only when some amendments are made on the Treaty,” he said, insisting that the EAC or Eala in particular, has no powers to interfere with any process deemed democratic in any EAC partner state in picking legislators for the regional Assembly.However, he explained that EAC would prefer an all-inclusive Eala which would serve the needs of the region.
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