{{The issue of work permit fees could be a thing of the past in the East African Community (EAC) bloc if the regional bloc duly implements a Resolution passed by the regional Assembly on Thursday.}}
The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala), currently meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, passed a motion for a resolution advocating for the elimination of work permit fees for citizens of the region in the spirit of enhancing free movement of workers.
The resolution specifically targeted Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda which have dragged their feet in eliminating the work permit fees for workers from the EAC member countries as done by Rwanda and Kenya.
“EAC citizens have been subjected to altered work permit fees in the region which are divided into several classes that cater for different professions,” the legislators said, noting that Tanzania has a total of 13 sub-classes, Uganda nine while Rwanda and Burundi have two sub-classes each.
The resolution took cognisance of the fact that Article 76 of the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC recognises that within the Common Market, there shall be free movement of labour, goods, services, capital and the right of establishment.
Article 10 of the Common Market Protocol, for its part, guarantees that the Partner States do provide for free movement of workers, who are citizens of the other Partner States within their territories.
According to the resolution, the current fees charged to obtain work permits also vary. In Tanzania, the fees range from $6 for peasants to $3,000 for miners whereas in Uganda it ranges from $250 for missionaries up to $2500 for miners. In Burundi, the fees range from $60 for students to $84 for regular workers.
The objective of the work permit is seen as a mode of earning revenue and taxes or regulation of free movement according to the mover of the motion.
In the resolution, Eala thus urges the Council of Ministers to call for harmonisation of national laws in order to allow for free movement of labour and services.
Supporting the motion, Abubakar Zein Abubakar from Tanzania said the move would create a sense of ‘East Africaness’ and would ensure ultimately, ‘Brand East Africa’ is realised.
He called for a sense of identity and mutual benefit amongst citizens and said abolishing work permits was a step in that direction.
Mr Mike Sebalu (Uganda) lauded the Motion as timely to take the integration to the next level. ‘We need to move freely and take integration away from the boardroom to the people’, he declared.
Mr Abdul Karim Harelimana noted that the region had continued to realise some benefits accruing from the Common Market Protocol and noted that the imaginary fears especially about loss of revenue and insecurity should be dispelled.
The legislator noted that today over 170 Kenyan companies had set up operations in Rwanda and the move was greatly benefiting Rwandans.
Ms Maryam Ussi supported the motion with caution noting that there were still threats of terrorism around the borders.
‘If international passports can be forged, then even the East African passports are subject to forgery’, the legislator remarked. On equality of jobs and provision of services, she noted many citizens were still unable to work in the neighbouring Partner States.
Ms Susan Nakawuki criticised leaders in some partner states for hiding behind bureaucracies to deny free movement noting that currently, work permit fees were also high.
‘I congratulate Kenya and Rwanda for the move to withdraw permit fees and also note that Kenya and Uganda are working on a similar bilateral move’, she said.
Another MP Mukasa Mbidde noted that the issue of permits had been used as Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and said the decision by Rwanda and Kenya to collaborate in the matter exemplified the Principle of Variable Geometry which applies in the integration model.
An Eala MP from Tanzania Mr. Abdullah Mwinyi, however, maintained that work permits were a monitoring instrument in absence of the identity cards.
The deputy minister for EAC Dr. Abdulla Sadaalla noted that harmonisation of the national laws was currently in progress and that Tanzania had reviewed relevant laws, in alignment to the Common Market Protocol.
“I can confirm that we have finalised the review process and are now awaiting the process of ratification’, the Minister remarked. Her
Burundi counterpart Leontine Nzeyimana who is the minister of EAC Affairs pledged the Ministry would pursue the removal of the work permit fees with the authorities.
During a recent private sector CEOs meeting in Kampala Uganda,stakeholders expressed concerns on the contentious issue of work permits in the EA region, saying it still remained largely unworkable.
Tanzania, in particular, was blamed for being slow in embracing the anticipated cross-border labour regimes in the region as espoused by the EAC Common Market Protocol.
{NMG}
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