EAC countries should unify policies

Today is a very important day in the history of the African continent. Our brothers in Southern Sudan are voting in a referendum on whether to secede and form a new independent and Africa’s 54th state or to remain a part of the larger Sudan. Sudan is Africa’s largest country but the split between the Arab North and the Christian and animist south, has necessitated a referendum to settle the crisis that has accounted for many years of war between the two people. In case they vote for separation as many have anticipated then they will join Eritrea which broke away from Ethiopia in 1993. The aftermath of this referendum, is bound to have a lasting impact on the greater East African Community, especially now that Southern Sudan has grown into a lucrative market for East African traders and investors. This also explains the exuberant media coverage that regional media houses like Nation Media Group have accorded the event. Kenya’s Citizen TV has even hired former Tusker Project Fame 4 contestant, Paleki as a correspondent. Talking of spill-over effects; during the week there was a story in The New Times concerning the challenges of implementing the anti-polythene bag policy. According to the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA), smugglers are frustrating the policy. The ban against polythene bags in this country has stood for more than five years, and the Rwanda Revenue Authority officials, together with the Immigrations officers, have done a commendable job at the various border points to curb the trafficking of these bags. The Director General of REMA, Rose Mukankomeje, talked about the government being at advanced stages of creating a special department under the Ministry of Commerce, to deal with the eradication of polythene bags in the business environment. All these efforts are quite commendable but I believe they can only be concretised if a regional approach is pursued. I think it is simply frustrating for the immigration and revenue personnel, to continue struggling to keep these bags out yet the neighbouring countries are doing the opposite. In Uganda for instance, the polythene bags that are commonly referred to as buveera are everywhere, and their usage, has become institutionalised to the extent that shoppers are known to throw tantrums in case they are not offered a polythene bag after making a purchase. Now that the EAC is working towards harmonisation of laws and policies to ease the process of integration, then some of the policies in Rwanda must be marketed across the community. If indeed we are a family of five countries then this business of one country going after a policy individually, ought to reviewed. Without uniform policies, the road to integrations is filled with mockery. For example the Nakumatt store in Rwanda offers its clients branded paper bags yet the one in Kampala gives out branded polythene bags. Ironically as you walk out of the Kampala Nakumatt store, you will see a trash can emblazoned with words urging you to protect the environment. If the environment needs protection from these bags in Rwanda why should Kenya and Tanzania or Uganda not care about the environment? Our policy makers should sell the good policies of this country to other members in the EAC family. East Africa will certainly be a much better place if polythene bags were banned by all the five members. The region would be much cleaner if the general cleaning (Umuganda) concept was also adopted by other countries. Anyone who has been to downtown Kampala and some parts of Kisumu will agree with me on this one. We cannot continue to claim that we are moving towards full integration, yet we are still having different policy approaches. I honestly think that the dissimilar policies on the issue are more to blame than the few smugglers. Interestingly, other East Africans are quick to point out that the ban on polythene bags is one of the reasons why Kigali is by far the cleanest city in the region. Uganda tried to implement a similar policy two years ago but without much success. Rwanda, therefore, ought to come out and educate its neighbours on some of these policies and on how best they can be implemented. We should not forget that Rwanda took the difficult step of switching from French to English as a language of instruction at all academic levels, because among other reasons, it wanted to align its education system with the rest of the East African Community members. In the same spirit, the other four countries should also be ready to adopt some of the commendable policies like the ban on polythene bags, having a monthly general cleaning day as well as embracing zero tolerance to corruption. ssenyonga@gmail.com