“Lost hope?” Covid-19 Pandemic, its Implications, and Prospects for the Deep Integration of the East African Community

Abstract

20 years after the re-establishment of the East African Community (EAC), the core regional countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi are still struggling to harmonize policy regarding trade and the free movement of labor with informal trade bearing the brunt. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic brought to light some of these challenges. While reactive measures were instituted to ensure that the import and export trade continued there was certainly a lot left to be desired concerning governance and social policy harmonization. This paper takes a historical trend analysis to assess the progress of the EAC integration in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to identify prospects that should guide regional integration in East Africa and Africa. Informed by the cracks brought to fore by COVID-19, we consider its implication on the resilience and cohesiveness of the EAC. This paper makes use of both primary and secondary information to make conclusions and recommendations.