The role of the East African Community in the Economic Development of the East African Region
Abstract
The East African Community (EAC) is one of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in
Africa with integration in the region dating back to pre-colonial times. However, the integration
process achieved less than desired as witnessed with the collapse of the previous EAC in 1977.
This study critically reviewed the role that the East African Community plays in economic
integration in the East African region by first reviewing the history of the integration process, its
successes and failures and identifying the challenges of the present EAC economic integration
process. The major concerns that emerge from this study are the overlapping RECs membership
by partner states that continue to pose harmonization and coordination challenges. In addition,
there is lack of political commitment among partner states. The East African Community
institutions are weak as they lack the capacity to enforce sanctions against partner states who fail
to implement agreements. The selection process of the members of these institutions is not
democratic as they are handpicked by partner states in the absence of citizens’ views. Finally,
issues of non-trade barriers (NTBs), poor infrastructure and limited private sector engagement
are an impediment to economic growth in the region. These problems seem to have made
building a successful integration process a daunting task for the EAC despite its perceived
importance in the increasingly globalized world. Thus, partner states need to take integration not
only as a Pan African ideology but more importantly as economic survival strategy