Rwanda as a template for the EAC Common Market

Three days after reading this, the East African Common Market will take effect (not full effect though). Yes on July 1, this region’s federation ambitions will reach the stage of a Common Market. It will not be in full effect because member states still have a long way to go in gradually eliminating impediments to enable their citizens and produce to take on a more regional face. In other words, we expect to see a situation where goods and services as well as people are free to move in the region without any limitations. After the Common Market, the next step will be the Monetary Union and eventually we shall move on to the Political Federation that will see the five countries merged into one ‘mighty’ nation whose population of over 120 million will rival that of Ethiopia and Nigeria. At its most Utopian, the Common Market will see East Africans free to work or settle any where in the region without the requirement of a work or residence permit. At the same time, goods will freely cross borders offering citizens more choice and a wider market for the business community. While some people are very enthusiastic about the whole move, others like my Tanzanian brothers have often developed cold feet whenever anything in this direction is raised. This is very normal and healthy for the wider community for it serves as a check for any complacency that may lead to future regrets. Rwanda’s remarkable comeback after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi has so many lessons for the East African Community as far as the Common Market is concerned. The argument by the Tanzanians that the Common Market be delayed on grounds that the ground is not levelled cannot hold much water. I don’t think there was anything like a levelled ground soon after the genocide in 1994. Over a million Tutsi had just been killed in cold blood and a large number of the killers had relocated to eastern D.R Congo. However the last 16 years have been marked by remarkable societal healing process that has seen the country back on its feet. The current government’s policy of unity and reconciliation as well as the undying resilience of Rwandans basically explains the new and improved Rwanda. For more than 30 years, Rwandan Tutsi were virtually denied citizenship and even those who braved the situation were living in constant fear. These fears are now no more with Rwandans living together not as Tutsis, Hutus and Twas but as Rwandans with a common destiny. The Tanzanians who think that the EAC project is for the Kenyans to benefit from should take heart and aspire for the day when just like Rwandans, we shall all live in the EAC as East Africans with a common destiny and not as Tanzanians or Burundians. With free flow of capital and labour, things will slowly even out. The EAC still has large language discrepancies to deal with. Tanzanians are very comfortable with their coveted Swahili sanifu, the Kenyans have added English to their Swahili while the Ugandans are still stuck with the ‘unofficial’ but popular Luganda. Rwanda and Burundi hardly have any Swahili to talk of. Here again, Rwanda has a lesson for the wider EAC. After seriously considering the comparative advantages presented by English as a global language, it was chosen to replace French as the dominant official language. I look forward to the day when member states will opt to strengthen the footprint of Swahili in the region. Rwanda abolished the discriminatory IDs that specified whether one was Hutu, Tutsi or Twa and replaced them with truly national IDs. I foresee a time when our Rwandan or Tanzanian passports are replaced with an East African passport. Rwanda has managed to rise from the ashes of genocide not by pointing fingers but by embracing the truth as a basis for reconciliation. In the same spirit, EAC’s integration for which the Common Market is a big step will succeed if we accept the fact (truth) that we all have a common destiny and a better chance of achieving it collectively rather than as individual groups or nations. Like the reconciliation efforts that have helped to heal a sick society that was Rwanda, the EAC should also embark on efforts to sell the EAC brand to each and every citizen. There has to be a move to convince a Karimajong, a Kisi, a Chagga, a Muyonro and everybody else that together as East Africans the sky is the limit. Rwanda’s unity and reconciliation efforts are still ongoing, a sign that it’s not an easy process. Likewise, EAC integration is not something that will happen just like instant coffee. However, nothing is impossible if we join hands and work towards a common good. ssenyonga@gmail.com