The Development of the East African Community

The East African Community (EAC) is a partnership community of three unified countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The main office of the EAC is to be found in Arusha, Tanzania. These countries were under the British colonial power before they gained their independence. The aim of the agreement was to maintain the collaborative national trade during the British reign. The agreed partnership between the three countries was imposed in June 1967. The objective of EAC was to strengthen the three countries by helping each other in creating one stable market and community. It was also established to creating a mutual relation between the three countries in terms of development. Its objective could be accomplished by cooperative and regulated development and trade. It was decided that all member states will accordingly receive equal share that was gained from the economic results. The organizational structure of the East African Community were directed by the Summit of Heads of State and Government which consisted of the three presidents of the three countries, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Even though the purpose of the EAC was beneficial, it did not last long. Its break-up was not because of poverty but was mainly because of its organizational. The union of the three countries was influenced by political factors. The community became vulnerable to political instability after gaining independence which resulted to poor governance. Governance is an important factor in maintaining a healthy community thus having weak authority may lead to downfall of the community. This flaw led to the failure of the common services offered by their government, such as education, trade and health, which contributed largely in the volatility of the community. The leaders of the EAC were not quite communicated with each other mainly because the headquarters of the EAC was located in Kenya which gave the feeling that Kenya was having the lion’s share between the three countries. With all these predicaments, economic problems of the three countries became severe and their economy status eventually fell. There was no federation as a result, EAC had no choice but to either break-up or create a new structure that would be acceptable for the three countries. EAC could not anymore withstand its flaws thus, in 1977, it broke up and the formal agreement of division was conducted in 1983. The three countries decided that they would work independently for a while until they have gained national stability before they would take in consideration the partnership with one another. After gaining economic and political stability, the leaders of the three countries decided to revive the defunct EAC in 1994. It was anticipated that the restoration of the EAC treaty would generate a congruent economic status for the three countries. The new EAC strategy is expected to accentuate economic partnership and progress with a strong concern for social improvement. The development of the newly formed EAC is still being underway. But based on the statistical data of the three countries, their countries are experiencing gradual improvement. There is still much more to observe in the development of EAC. Hopefully, its gradual process would constantly rise.There are some recommendations that must be taken in mind. There should be federal government for EAC which shall be independent from the states governments. The federal government should promote local and international free trade. Having one unified currency would be a benefit for their economy. The quality education should also be improved and standardized. The three countries should also look on the other possibilities of production opportunities such as industrialization. The purpose of EAC is feasible; it may be gained with proper governance and use of the vast available resources. Every community has the chance to proliferate and so does the East African Community.

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