Failure by some countries to align their national laws with the East African Community (EAC) is depriving regional citizens of the benefits of the Common Market Protocol.Speaking at a news briefing in Kigali yesterday, the Minister in charge of EAC Affairs, Monique Mukaruliza, said many economic and social benefits are held back due to reluctance by some member countries to modify their national laws. “We cannot have a sounding common market when member countries are not aligning their laws to accommodate the EAC programmes. We have now harmonised ours in Rwanda, imagine if a Tanzanian comes and benefits from our laws what about a Rwandan who will go to Tanzania? Do you expect him to benefit?” the Minister wondered.Apparently, it’s only Rwanda and Kenya that have already identified the laws and started harmonising them as stipulated by the treaty.In a separate interview, the minister said lack of uniformity in legal frameworks was also hurting cross border trade.Some of the laws synchronised in Rwanda include the new immigration law, and labour law. Mukaruliza explained that all laws are revised to ensure they are in line with the common market.The new Immigration law allows EAC citizens to visit Rwanda for a period of six months without a visa.According to the law, in order to facilitate foreigners wishing to work or reside in Rwanda, work and resident permits are combined. A person who will have acquired a resident permit will also have the right to work in the country.The law further stipulates that investors in sectors such as agriculture, ICT, animal husbandry, mining, hospitality industry, manufacturing and other sectors are issued with a three year temporary resident permit as an incentive.Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki recently urged member countries to fast track the integration process by harmonising the national laws.“We need to hasten the pace of integration. We should also fast-track the transposition of national laws that contradict the common market spirit to enable its successful implementation,” Kibaki said.On Non Trade Barriers (NTBs) which are among the challenges to regional integration, Trade and Industry Minister, François Kanimba, said a new bill to enforce the implementation was recently enacted, and if passed, partner countries will benefit more.“Implementing the protocols has been a problem, that’s why we still have NTBs in the region. However, a new bill was enacted and it will have a time bond when the member countries are supposed to implement the protocols. We are optimistic that it will tremendously assist the region,” he told a news conference.If the bill is passed, it will stipulate penalties against member countries that are reluctant to respect the treaty. It’s expected to be passed by the end of this month.
