By Justin Nkaranga
Mombasa, Kenya:
Last week, East African Community (EAC) leaders arrived in Mombasa for a
meeting aimed at looking into strategies to boost regional economic
growth and improve integration.
But that is pipe dream far away at cloud nine. Not now.
Some
presidents of the region encompassing the EAC snubbed the occasion.
Reasons for skipping the ceremony were not explained. The commissioning
of Berth 19 at Mombasa Port was only graced by Presidents Uhuru
Kenyatta, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
These meetings often don't achieve much. Little happens to make real impact to be felt by all.
Once
upon a time there was a similar East African body of three countries
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The three Presidents of the three nations
President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Miltom Obote of Uganda and Julius
Nyerere of Tanzania were at Kilindini Port to commission MV. Mulungushi
which today, we don't know of its whereabouts.
The East African Community lacks unity. The member states do not trust one another.
Can
these states ‘cheating’ one another bond to form the United States of
East Africa and have one President if they are genuine enough?
Border
disagreements as is portrayed in the Migingo Island dispute is just one
of the situations that need to settled first before the neighbours can
actualise unity. Keeping mum on the issue could be a ticking time bomb.
When
will EAC have one Identity Card or passport? When will we have one
currency? So that we travel freely without what we encounter at all
border points within East Africa. Not now. We are a thousand miles from
reality.
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