East African Community Member States Research Articles

English

Worldwide, the dairy sector is one of the fastest growing productive sectors. The global sector growth in the decade 2011 to 2020 is projected to be higher than that experienced in 2000 to 2010, mainly due to expected robust growth in developing countries. Global milk production in 2014 stood at about 800 million metric tons. India is the global leader in milk production accounting for 16% of output, with the USA coming second with 14.6% of global production, while Africa produces less than 10% of global output. Sub-Saharan Africa commands 0.2% of the global trade volume in the dairy sector. Egypt is the African Continental leader in milk output, as Africa remains the largest importer of milk powders, butter and ghee. The shortfalls in demand show potential investment opportunities and growth areas in the sector. The East African output of butter and ghee stands at about 15% of the African output of these products. Kenya and Uganda produce considerable amounts of processed dairy products, although, the milk processed rarely exceeds 12 to 15% of domestic milk supply, with most milk production being consumed at farm level. Tanzania produces more butter and ghee than other East African Community (EAC) members with Burundi been the least. Although, informal marketing channels, offering cheaper fresh milk are attractive, increasing decentralization of regulatory services, growing effectiveness of law enforcement and consumer awareness of the healthfulness of processed milk, will continue to reduce informal marketing of unprocessed fresh milk in EAC countries. Despite the quest for global export, the unmet domestic dairy products demand in EAC member states may slow entry into global markets. To meet the numerous requirements in export markets requires cautious, planned and systematic forays over time. Key words: East Africa, dairy value chains, processing, marketing, opportunities, challenges.

Mobile Banking Services in the East African Community (EAC): Challenges to the Existing Legislative and Regulatory Frameworks

Abstract Should regulators require interconnection and interoperability between mobile money networks? Yes, asserts the author, using the five-nation East African Community (EAC) as a case study. Challenges to policy harmonization are posed by different legal and regulatory systems in the EAC Member States; as well as different business models, technologies, functionalities, and forms of mobile money. With few models on which to draw, the EAC must find a way to address the convergence of the telecommunications and financial sectors to enable maximum benefits from mobile banking, especially for the poor.

Tourism in the East African Community (EAC): Challenges, opportunities, and ways forward

The Economic Road Map and Visions of the East African Community member states (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi) view tourism development not only as a key pillar for national development, but most importantly as a mechanism to alleviate poverty, generate foreign revenue for the government, and contribute to wildlife conservation. With exception of Kenya and Tanzania, which also have a well-developed coastal tourism segment, the remaining East African Community countries are landlocked, with nature and wildlife remaining as the only core tourism assets. Yet, their Economic Road Map and Visions foresee tourism as a key contributor to transforming their economies in the years to come . While this sounds like a honorable aspiration, most tourism revenues have been generated through narrow tourism products, such as wildlife and national parks, based on a few species (i.e. the big five and the mountain gorillas). Other challenges affecting the potential for tourism to flourish include political stability and governance, infrastructure development, service standards, and human capacity just to name a few. In this paper, drawing upon literature and previous research experiences of the authors, an overview on the state of tourism in the East African Community is presented with the aim to assess the main challenges, opportunities, and offer some reflections on possible ways forward for tourism development in the region.

Mobile Banking Services in the East African Community (EAC): Challenges to the Existing Legislative and Regulatory Frameworks

Abstract Should regulators require interconnection and interoperability between mobile money networks? Yes, asserts the author, using the five-nation East African Community (EAC) as a case study. Challenges to policy harmonization are posed by different legal and regulatory systems in the EAC Member States; as well as different business models, technologies, functionalities, and forms of mobile money. With few models on which to draw, the EAC must find a way to address the convergence of the telecommunications and financial sectors to enable maximum benefits from mobile banking, especially for the poor.

Comparative Advantage and Economic Performance of East African Community (EAC) Member States

The researchers have investigated comparative advantage in the East African Community member states. They have also investigated economic performance of the member states. Balassa’s Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index was used to establish member states’ comparative advantage. An analysis of real GDP, employment levels and stability of exchange rates was used to measure their economic performance. The results show Kenya has comparative advantage in 471 product codes, Tanzania in 471 products, Uganda in 437 product codes, Rwanda in 275 products codes and Burundi in 152 product codes. There is therefore evidence that the member states have revealed comparative advantage although in limited products and that economic indicators show they have performed well. However, there is a need that GDP growth rates should exceed population growth rates in order to have sustainable economic growth.

Non-Tariff Barriers in the EAC Customs Union: Implications for Trade in Uganda with Other EAC Countries

A key objective for the adoption of East African Community (EAC) Customs Union was to enhance economic gains through elimination of tariffs and non‐tariff barriers (NTBs) within the member states. This study has established that several NTBs continue to exist, and some have persisted. The NTBs that have persisted for more than three years include a long list of customs documentation requirements, cumbersome formalities, and limited testing and certification arrangements. Other NTBs that still exist include: un‐standardized weighbridges; several road blocks; lack of recognition of individual country’s standards; and the existence of several un‐harmonised standards. The simulation results of spatial equilibrium model of maize trade with and without NTBs show that at the EAC level there are positive production, trade and welfare implications attributable to elimination of NTBs in intra‐regional maize trade. The gains are greatest in trade and production in Uganda compared to Kenya and Tanzania. To eliminate the existing NTBs and to reduce the possibility of new ones being created, first and foremost, the EAC countries need to design effective mechanisms for identifying and verifying information about NTBs and ensuring their elimination. This will require giving the EAC Secretariat the mandate to compel individual countries to eliminate any identified NTB and to ensure that no new ones are created. Second, policy and legislative decisions made by, for example, Council of Ministers should be communicated in time for effective implementation. Broadly, the Government of Uganda (GoU) needs to examine the trade barriers identified in this study and remove those that are internally instituted while working with the rest of the member states to remove those externally imposed. In the specific and medium term, standards should be harmonized and enforcement of compliance be transferred to one regional body, such as EAC Bureau of Standards. In the short run, the EAC countries should develop a mutual recognition of standards across member countries. Furthermore, EAC member states and other key stakeholders such as private sector associations need to launch public awareness campaigns to disseminate information about customs union and its economic opportunities. There is also a need for full commitment to the implementation of customs union protocol by all the member states

Language management and the East African Community

Within the emerging discourse of language management, there is an increasing realisation of the strategic role that language plays in multinational and supranational contexts. The article discusses the strategic role that language can and should play within the East African Community (EAC). The discussion is presented in four parts: the first presents an exploratory discussion on the theory and practice of language management. The second provides key statistics on the EAC, including the language profiles and language policies of EAC member states and the language policy of EAC organs. Part three discusses some language management issues within the EAC. The final part of the article argues for the centrality of language management within the EAC.

Opening Up African Skies: The Case of Airline Industry Liberalization in East Africa

The three member states of the East African Community (EAC) have made great efforts in modernizing their air transport industry in order to meet the increased demand for international tourism and horticultural export trade. The policy adopted by the sub-region, at independence, to regulate the airline industry was the bilateralism approach with emphasis on reciprocity. Such a policy became a bottleneck in the development of the air transport industry in the sub-region. It became apparent that the EAC member states needed efficient air services and not airlines that served mainly as status symbols. However, the last decade witnessed the liberalization of the aviation sector in the sub-region. This liberalization process is part of a proactive policy to encourage global investment in the sub-region. This has led to the adoption of the Yamoussoukro Decision, which calls for the opening of the African skies. This paper, therefore, critically discusses the process of the airline industry liberalization and its prospects for success in the sub-region.

Media Performance, Agenda Building, and Democratization in East Africa

This chapter discusses media performance during the democratization process in the Eastern African countries of Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda, which form a regional union called the East African Community (EAC). The analysis is inspired by over 200 seminal academic studies and expert texts from various disciplines, mostly on East Africa, to assess how these governments influence media performance during their wave of democratization. The chapter examines a range of issues that demonstrate the autocratic means of building a government agenda, such as restrictive press laws, sectarianism, election malpractice, political and ethnic violence, and influence peddling. It shows how this agenda-building approach exercised by the EAC member states undercuts the contributions of the media to the democratization process. The authors demonstrate how the emergence of independent media and religious institutions in some of the EAC member states constitute the most vigilant and influential part of civil society. Further, the argument is that media performance is most successful when its agenda mobilizes citizens to challenge the structures of authoritarian rule by promoting human rights, economic empowerment, and the rule of law.