Can we stop flogging the common currency horse?

The newly elected Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, kicked off his duties with a trip to Arusha for another of those Heads of State meetings that the East African Community holds regularly to keep the pace of integration going. Like on many other occasions the main topic for discussion was the idea of a common currency for the region. Timelines and deadlines were discussed then handshakes were exchanged as photographs were taken. In a way it seemed like another tired record. The idea of the common currency for the EAC region still sounds like a dead horse to me. As our leaders meet to discuss the issue, the citizens stay home and watch news clips of the Euro crisis in countries like Greece, Cyprus among others. The lesson from Europe has been that a common currency without a common fiscal policing entity is bound to be nothing but a problem. The situation in the EAC seems even more complicated. In the first place our economies though trading together have got clear differences. For example try changing Kenyan shillings to Uganda shillings and see. I remember meeting a Kenyan business lady joking that each time she crosses to Uganda she becomes a millionaire. The question here would be whether Kenyans are willing to give up their strong currency for a common EAC currency or they would prefer to play the British card and hold on to their currency. Away from the clear differences between the strength of the currencies now there is also the issue of individual national priorities. While Rwanda may want to spend on extending its fibre optic network, Uganda may want to buy fighter jets and then Kenya may be thinking of giving its parliamentarians the highest pay for an MP in the world. Rwanda has done a good job in taming corruption yet in countries like Kenya and Uganda, corruption seems to be the only currency that gets things done. How then do we intend to harmonise priorities with a single currency? And talking of harmonisation how far have we gone with that anyway. How is the common market fairing? Haven’t we failed to eliminate Non-Tariff Barriers? Don’t we always read stories of traders in Rwanda and Uganda complaining about the practices of the Kenyans as they try to get goods from Mombasa? What about the continuing bad blood between Kenya and Tanzania when it comes to cross border trade? Oh and before I even forget do you see how different the policies on work permits are in the five countries? Didn’t our leaders meet and shake hands after agreeing this too will be harmonised? Almost every year I read an article about how the EAC intends to harmonise education and nothing much happens there as well. In Kenya the trick has been to turn polytechnics into universities to please communities. So are our leaders meeting simply because that is what is on their schedule or indeed they are serious about a common currency? Would it not make much more sense if we first concentrated on fixing the common market properly and may be addressing the challenges the region faces like infrastructure and youth unemployment? How do we make our people produce more and trade more and do all this in a much easier way than before? How do we get our youth to think beyond the English Premier League and its cousin, sports betting? What about the middle class that is not bothered when floods kill their fellow citizens. They rather tweet prayers to Boston than worry about their own people. How shall we get our media to refocus on issues and give us less tabloid material? In the papers I read about the famed US fast food retailer KFC opening shop in Tanzania and yet it is still a challenge for fellow East Africans to do business in Tanzania. We are always talking about our visions, our desire to emulate Asian tigers and our aspiration to be ICT hubs. It appears we have the same dreams but they are largely dreams. If the Kenyan government can be sold false bomb detectors that are actually meant to find golf balls then as a region we still have a long way to go before we can talk of common currency. Let us first fix the small stuff then we can talk the big stuff when we are more serious and focused. Blog: www.ssenyonga.wordpress.comTwitter: @ssojo81