Juba should be ready to make East Africans feel at home

Now that the East African Community has grown bigger with the addition of South Sudan some things need to be made clear from the onset. My column last week was rather diplomatic and only focused on welcoming our South Sudanese brothers and sisters to this wonderful community. However other columnists and regional commentators were not so pleased by the decision to admit South Sudan at a time when the Burundi question is still such an elephant in the room. I do understand where they are coming from with their criticisms. You see the EAC is still basically a fragile work in progress and the people in it expect a lot from Arusha. The five East African countries have achieved quite a lot along the integration path but more still has to be done. Tanzania is still cagey on the issue of movement of labour for example while Kenya and Uganda keep shifting goalposts regarding the trade of some goods like sugar. Migingo Island also remains an unsolved issue. Burundi has taken a lot of steps back with its political crisis while Rwanda seems to be so far out of the blocks that others struggle to keep up. South Sudan (by the way never call it Southern Sudan, it pisses them off) has joined EAC at a time when its record of treating other East Africans is not impressive at all. Even as I type this, there are scores of Kenyan and Ugandan businesspeople who are owed huge sums of money for goods they supplied particularly to the Juba government but were never paid when war broke out and they had to close shop. The EAC is essentially a business bloc and it is not good if Juba is coming in with a reputation of a government that does not pay suppliers. Away from the cash, we have heard more than enough stories of Ugandan or Kenyan businesspeople being killed in South Sudan over business rivalries and other strange reasons. Juba being the new kid on the block has a huge reputation issue to fix regarding how it relates to other East Africans. We do understand when you want to organise your backyard and protect local businesses from being swallowed up by the aggressive Kenyans or the hardworking Ugandans but this should not involve killing or refusing to pay for goods supplied. Juba through its embassies should now embark on some soft power to rebrand South Sudan as a land of friendly people and one that is ready to mingle with the rest of East Africa. Rwanda did this quite well after being admitted to the bloc and it is rare to find an East African who has not heard the Rwandan story. I am not talking the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi but the story of a Rwanda that has risen from its past to become a source of envy for many. Juba also has to remember that the other EAC members all have some sense of pride and will not be falling over themselves just because a new member has joined and has oil. Before we even take a look at current oil prices we know that Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania all have this black gold in good quantities. In other words, South Sudan should not assume it is special but rather join hands with other members to make East Africa special. East African unity is what makes us special. Last year I followed an event in Tanzania that had been attended by leaders from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and DRC. There was no need for translation as all the leaders understand Swahili. This language unites us even though we have varying levels of competence of the same. By the way right now Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda are jointly marketing their tourism products and services at the world’s largest tourism trade fair – ITB Berlin. The idea is that we are one destination but with unique experiences to offer that is why one can get one tourist visa to visit the three countries. The folks at Arusha have opened the door for South Sudan; it is now time for South Sudan to also open its doors to the rest of East Africa. Juba has to quickly figure out ways to make us all feel at home while in Juba whether for business or pleasure. Burundi should also not get complacent; we need it back in shape and working with the rest of us.

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Juba should be ready to make East Africans feel at home