Recently at an evening session with children drawn from various schools in Githunguri constituency, I was pleasantly surprised when out of their own volition, the children sang the East African Anthem in full.
I am used to us singing only one stanza in official functions after singing the whole three verses of our national anthem. The fact that these children could do so was very impressive and it signifies the efforts being made to unite this region as one economic block.
I had witnessed a similar trend in Uganda way back in 2013, and I was happy to note that the country has re-introduced Kiswahili as a teaching subject in its primary schools. Interestingly, the same is happening in South Africa as well.
Kiswahili is fairly well spoken in Zanzibar, Tanzania mainland, Kenya, parts of Uganda, Rwanda, heavily in Bujumbura in Burundi and in Eastern Congo DRC.
Recently, I was in Kinshasa and was happy to note that one finds it easier to speak in Kiswahili there than in English. The first lady of the country speaks very good Kiswahili and so are past presidents Laurent and his son Joseph Kabila.
Despite stark differences in terms of dialects and usage, it remains a unifying language for the whole of this region. Kiswahili is also spoken in Somalia, and the country is so unstable that it hasn’t been admitted to the EAC since there are at least three governments over there despite the main one being in Mogadishu.
The current membership of EAC comprises of the Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. DRC has also applied for membership.
The six countries have a total population of 177 million as of 2019, with an estimated GDP of $193.7 billion. Kenya is the biggest economy at $109 billion.
This region has a combined GDP equivalent to Qatar or Algeria and has immense potential especially if DRC joins the bloc. The capital Arusha is only four hours from Nairobi CBD and is much closer to other cities in Kenya such as Kisumu or Eldoret. In fact, Arusha is closer to Nairobi than say Githioro ward in Kipipiri, Nyandarua county.
Actually, a good proportion of what is likely to be served on a dinner plate in a home in Nairobi could easily have come from Tanzania. There is booming business between Kenya and Tanzania, now that there is a one stop border entry, which is working very well. The long hours witnessed before by tractors and people are a thing of the past.
Interestingly, there is a lot that can be gained if the community can be functional. Kenya can provide the entrepreneurial spirit, Uganda the food basket, Rwanda public order, Burundi, a lesson in reconciliation, Tanzania, long term stability and the benefits of nationhood and South Sudan, military expertise in warfare. These and many more benefits can accrue if the reality of the regional economic bloc can be attained.
However, there is a lot that needs to be done to move towards this direction. First and foremost, the integration must now move from being an elitist pursuit to the people.
The East African Legislative Assembly games are coming to a close in Arusha, and it was very comical to witness the standoff between Uganda and Tanzania on football and netball respectively, with Kenya’s match with Zanzibar stalling as well. National pride and dishonesty on the part of countries such as Tanzania having signed up national team players who are neither parliamentarians nor members of staff came to the fore.
The games are the single-most effort by EAC to bring the countries together. They have however been largely successful, with Kenya resoundingly beating EALA in volleyball.
The same spirit should carry on with our universities championships and also the East African Music Festivals competitions. A joint monetary union is also critical going forward, especially after the successful implementation of a common passport.
A political federation is desirable and it’s about time we had the seventh ballot to elect EALA members directly by the people, rather than this being a preserve of parliamentarians as is currently the case.
There is also need to cede some taxes to go directly to EAC especially at the cross-border points in order to have the community become independent financially.
Further, a rotational presidency should be introduced to begin with; away from sitting presidents being chairman, in order to ensure full concentration and independence from national engagements by the incumbent.
Tellingly, EAC was much more advanced than the European Community when it was first established in 1967. External interference though made the federation to collapse and was only revived in the 90s by Presidents Moi, Mwinyi and Museveni.
It’s a goal that is achievable that one day we shall have an East African President elected by all east Africans. At that point, nationhood should have become more meaningful since the current dynamics say in Kenya whereby people have been voting based on ethnicity can change. The Luo tribes are the single most bloc in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Congo DRC, followed possibly by the Maasai.
It thus remains to be seen what comes of it.
Idumu jumuiya yeetu!!
