Smart business people have for years packaged their products colourfully and attracting consumers with juicy deals such as the Buy-One-Get-One Free gimmick.Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have done just that, only this time it’s a Get-Three deal.They have set the ball rolling by unveiling a single tourist visa for the three countries in line with strengthening regional integration.The move will not only remove bottlenecks for travelers to the region, it will also allow the signatories to market the three countries as a single tourist destination, packaging their countries as one and sharing revenues.For the three countries to set in motion trilateral accords without the other two members of the East African Community (EAC) is not sidelining them, but rather because the triumvirate feel there is a sense of urgency to move forward; the others can come on board once they are ready. All countries do not move at the same pace, neither do they have the same priorities and those who drew up the EAC Treaty had that in mind. They inserted a clause to avoid any misunderstanding; the mathematical marvel known as Variable Geometry.It spells out that members who were ready to implement EAC policies could go ahead without the others, but the door remains open. Therefore, when Burundi and Tanzania feel they are ready, they will not have teething problems as the pioneers will have ironed out the creases.It does not have to take a mathematical genius to realise what benefits will accrue from having one visa for the whole region: the 26 European countries united under the single Schengen visa are running all the way to the bank.
