I Want Somalia to Become The Eighth Member of the East African Community...
This and More Interesting Remarks Uttered at the East African Community High-Level Retreat Yesterday
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Welcome to this special edition of the Not an Afterthought newsletter.
Yesterday, on 21st July 2022, the East African Community leaders gathered for a high-level retreat for the summit on the East Africa Common Market.
The Common Market is one of the pillars of the East African Community. It guides the movement of goods, services, people, capital and labor across partner states. It has been operational for 11 years.
The aim of the summit was to reflect on the efficacy of the Common Market thus far, identify the bottlenecks and come up with a way forward.
Please go ahead and enjoy some of the remarks made by the leaders in attendance.
H.E President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
Integration is not politics, it is survival!
Contrast the United States of America and Latin America. The USA is what it is today because they integrated the different States. Latin America is resource-rich but poor because they remain fragmented.
H.E President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
H.E President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta
If we are interlinked as East African Community nations, we can use our raw materials to produce for ourselves, distribute to ourselves and also have access to international markets.
But we must be interlinked through infrastructure for this to happen!
H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta
H.E President Samia Suluhu Hassan
Yes, East African Community can feed itself and beyond. But land alone is not the issue; it is using land effectively, access to finance and access to water for irrigation.
H.E President Samia Suluhu
H.E President Everiste Ndayishimiye
I can command the General Secretariat to plan information sessions. In the budget, we can plan it and it will help people (EAC citizens) to know and take advantage of the opportunities of integration.
H.E President Everiste Ndayishimiye, President of Burundi
Right Honorable Edouard Ngirente
We need the political will to remove all the restrictions in air transport services!
Right Honorable Edouard Ngirente, Prime Minister of Rwanda
Right Honorable Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde
Hon. Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin
We are a young East African Community member but we are moving in the right direction according to our capacity.
Hon. Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, Minister of Presidential Affairs for the Republic of South Sudan
South Sudan is a virgin territory. As long as the private sector comes in, we have a lot to offer the East African Community.
Hon. Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, Minister of Presidential Affairs for the Republic of South Sudan
H.E President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
Takeaway?
To realize the potential and benefits of integration, East African Community must perfect the Common Market Protocol.
As President Uhuru noted:
As East African nations, we are better off complementing instead of competing against each other.
Also, East Africa is the most beautiful girl born to mama Africa. No wonder everybody wants her!
If this is your first time here, here are a couple of issues that you might have missed.
Frequently Asked Questions About The East African Community
Dissecting the East African Community’s Customs Union: How Has it Benefited EAC Citizens?
Building and succeeding in Africa: How Safaricom Did It
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