Will the EAC secretariat be transformed into a commission?

Should the East African Community Secretariat be transformed into a commission? What would this achieve? Probably a lot. Or maybe just mundane posturing. But either way, some policy makers feel a commission which would give it more powers enforce decisions.The secretariat has repeatedly been disparaged for lacking the enforcing mechanism to ensure the proper implementation of protocols.It is predicted that once the Secretariat becomes a commission, member states would be obliged to implement the decisions agreed upon by the community, or be reprimanded as is the case with the European Union. The failure to implement decisions, especially the Common Market protocol, has slowed integration process since countries still prefer protecting their national interests instead of relinquishing some sovereignty.EALA members speaks outFred Mukasa Mbidde (Uganda), a member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), said before other decisions are taken it was imperative to immediately transform the secretariat into a commission, adding it doesn’t benefit the citizens to have the protocols and decisions which are not implemented.“The secretariat is like a dog that cannot bark or bite its now working as a messenger who only gets busy when told to. We need enforcing mechanism and partner states must cede some powers, that’s how the community shall fully benefit from the integration,” he said.Sheikh Abdul Karim Harerimana (Rwanda) also stressed the need for a commission.“We want the commission with real powers because we need protocols to be enforced. The commission will help us in resolving all the challenges we have in implementing decisions, meaning that we shall have the powers to reprimand the partner state that will fail to execute the protocols,” Harerimana said.However, speaking in Kigali, last week, EALA Speaker Margret Zziwa said although there is need to transform the Arusha-based EAC secretariat into a commission it would be impossible to achieve it unless the region politically federates.“This would be a desirable position if we have reached the fully fledged political federation level that would help in the perspective of actualising or giving powers of implementation. But as of now we are still using the good will of all the partner states,” she said.Zziwa said they will continue to remind partner states to implement the agreed protocols and other decisions for the benefit of the community.The political federation is the fourth and last step in the bloc’s integration process after the customs union, monetary union, whose negotiations are equally still underway, as well as common market protocol that was signed in 2009.However, it means that if the community is to wait for the federation to transform the secretariat, the challenges of implementing decisions will remain, observers say.Reform effortsDuring the EAC Heads of State Summit in Burundi, in November 2011, the Council of Ministers requested the Arusha Secretariat to undertake a study on the reforms and submit its findings. The partner states are now awaiting the formal proposal of reforms on how the new commission would be constituted, as well as the terms of reference from the secretariat, before deciding to approve the mode of restructuring.The Council of Ministers is the policy organ of the community which consists of ministers responsible for EAC affairs from each of the five partner states.Observers say the bloc has achieved little since the Heads of State signed the Common Market Protocol in November 2009 to facilitate the free movement of goods, labour and capital, with a view of creating a more favourable business atmosphere.

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Will the EAC secretariat be transformed into a commission?