Academics approve EAC's withdrawal from EPA

Arusha. Prof Humphrey Moshi of the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is one academician who would often argue constructively on a number of topical issues touching the country’s economy and beyond with a bit of flexibility.

That is why he minced no words when recently reached for comment on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) which Tanzania declined to sign recently in Nairobi during a UN Conference on Development and Trade (Unctad) as had been expected alongside with some member countries of the East African Community (EAC).

“This is a very pragmatic decision by government of the United Republic of Tanzania,” he told The Citizen saying for a long time he had been advising not only Tanzania but all the EAC partner states not to sign the agreements for a number of reasons.

“One; If we want to industrialise, then the agreements contradict our aspirations for that agenda. Two; Opening our economies to products from the European Union (EU) would kill even the small scale productive activities such as animal and chicken husbandry given that local products such as milk and eggs can hardly compete with the imported ones,” he said.

The economics professor went further by revisiting the colonial and post-colonial trade pattern between Africa and EU, saying it will persist by signing EPA, making Africa - and in this case the EAC - remain a perpetually source of raw materials while Europe will continue to be a source of industrial goods - for the African market.

He warns that the region could find itself in a disadvantageous position should it go ahead with the signing without studying the situation well in advance because, as he insists, any post agreement negotiations would have minor effect, if any, in changing the content “ultimately resulting in poor preparedness on the EAC part”.