Kenya has joined Rwanda and Tanzania in clamouring for a review of the quota system in the recruitment of East African Community staff on grounds that the formula is unfair.Last year, ministers concerned with East African Community (EAC) affairs from the five partner states approved a method in which states share community jobs equally irrespective of their population and contribution to the bloc’s finances.Documents from a recent Council of Ministers meeting in Nairobi show that Kenya has questioned the manner in which the quotas are calculated and asked for a review.“The Republic of Kenya was of the view that the operationalisation and implementation of the quota system has faced challenges which need to be addressed by the council,” read the documents.Kenya is not the only country protesting against the formula. Tanzania and Rwanda have also raised concerns, noting that barely a year after its creation, the EAC’s employee recruitment formula may be on the brink of collapse.In the first instance of its application earlier this year, recruitment was frozen as several countries wrote to the region’s administrative organ, questioning the procedures.The quota system was supposed to correct a situation where the older EAC states, especially Kenya, occupied the lion’s share of positions in the community’s organs and institutions.However, some experts have questioned it saying it does not give enough credit to the merit of potential employees.“The whole system is flawed. We may want to create equity in the community, but if you bring in people who don’t qualify but meet a certain geographical requirement, you will be harming the integration,” said Makerere University political scientist, Dr Kasaija Apuuli.The formula, established last year, awarded all five partner states an equal number of points. If a citizen from any of the member states is hired in any of the EAC organs, a certain number of points are subtracted from the country’s quota. The higher the position, the more the points knocked off.
