Uhuru urges EAC to speed up currency union
President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing the press at the East African Community headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. FILE PHOTO | NATION
What you need to know:
- It was announced at the summit that steps would be taken to remove east African citizens from the category of ‘foreigner’ whenever they visit a neighbouring state.
Arusha
President Uhuru Kenyatta has called on the member states of the East African Community to speed up the adoption of a common currency for the region.
President Kenyatta said a single currency will assure faster economic growth for the region and called on the member countries to lay the necessary foundations for it to be achieved.
He said the benefits of the EAC union will be achieved when all commitments under agreed protocols are implemented.
“We must work diligently to achieve a sustainable macro-economic convergence in terms of inflation, fiscal policies and exchange rate stability” he said.
Experts have however called on the members to be cautious and that instead of speeding up the monetary union, the region should ensure that the common market protocol and customs union are working as envisaged.
Analysts say having a common currency without a common treasury could lead to a debacle similar to that witnessed among the Eurozone members.
President Kenyatta, who is the chairperson of the EAC Heads of State Summit, also called on the other leaders to involve citizens in the decisions being made towards a common regional market.
“This entails the most intense effort we can muster to make every East African aware of what is going on in their Community” he said.
He appreciated the sensitizations already undertaken in the five countries but added that more can be done to “ensure that the people of East Africa are not left behind in the integration process”.
The customs union of EAC was established in 2005 and in 2010 the common market was started.
“These institutions are central pillars of the integration process of our nations and peoples” he said.
The EAC is working towards a political federation whose frameworks are being worked on.
It was announced at the summit that steps would be taken to remove east African citizens from the category of ‘foreigner’ whenever they visit a neighbouring state.
During the summit President Kenyatta led Presidents Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, First Vice President of Burundi Prosper Bazombaza and Prime Minister of Rwanda Pierre Habumuremyi in unveiling a memorial to the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda and the non-Tutsis who were killed for opposing the killings.
