Coalition of the Willing to cloud EAC summit

Kampala. Tanzania’s protest over its sidelining by EAC partner states Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda under the banner of the Coalition of the Willing (CoW) will feature prominently during the Heads of State Summit in Kampala this week. 

The two items that President Jakaya Kikwete bitterly complained about in his state of the EAC address to Parliament recently—Single Customs Territory and fast tracking of political federation—are listed among key items in the Summit’s agenda, going by the schedule of events released yesterday in Kampala by Uganda’s Minister of State EAC Affairs Shem Bageine. He is also the current Chair of the Council of Ministers.

According to the provisional programme, Presidents Kikwete, Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and Pierre Nkurunziza will on Saturday deliberate on the two controversial matters that are given priority in the six-agenda schedule. 

President Kikwete picked out the Single Customs Territory and Fast Tracking of the Political Federation as ongoing discussions under the CoW group that went against the EAC treaty.   They reportedly require the input of all five state partners.  This, he argued, confirmed that the coalition had isolated Tanzania and Burundi.  

The list indicated that the Summit would look at the “Way Forward on the Model Structure and Road Map for the EAC Political Federation” and “Attainment of the Single Customs Territory” and also review membership applications by South Sudan and Somalia.

Yesterday, , Mr Bageine sought to downplay the CoW issue, pointing out that the heads of state would only receive progress reports and would not discuss individual countries.

He added: “The CoW thing is a creation of the media as no problem exists among these countries. I can confirm that what Mr Kikwete raised was matters to do with rule of procedures. The other countries just discussed how to improve and speed up projects that have been agreed upon.”

“The problem was that the message from CoW was delayed and not promptly sent to the EAC and brought to the attention of the Council of Ministers,” said Mr Bageine at a media briefing in company of EAC Deputy Secretary General Enos Bukuku.

The Ugandan minister added: “Let me say here that no protocol could be signed outside the EAC and without the approval of all the five member states.”

Mr Bageine used the briefing to explain that there was no political motive for Rwanda to skip the chairmanship of the regional body as had been expected, instead passing the mantle to Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya.

The move was normal, he said, and the treaty allowed members who felt they were not ready to lead the bloc to ask the others to take up the role. Tanzania has assumed the role in the past after Burundi failed to take it up.

The minister was also at pains to deny that the move was engineered to boost Mr Kenyatta’s case for delayed prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC). “That, again, is false and we should leave the ICC question out,” Mr Bageine said. “But if he (Kenyatta) assumes the EAC chairmanship, we will be happy if the ICC showed some respect.”

Meanwhile, preparations were in top gear for the meeting, with Kampala authorities putting final touches on huge banners to welcome the heads of state for the meeting to be held at the Speke Resort and Conference Centre in Munyonyo on Saturday.

The climax of the events will be a joint public rally where all the presidents will address Ugandans from Kololo ceremonial grounds on the state of EAC affairs.

It is at the Kololo independence grounds that the EAC Monetary Union protocol will be officially signed by the five leaders. The Monetary Union is the latest regional protocol after the Customs Union and the Common Market.  

Other than the presidents, other high profile guests expected for the summit with the theme “One People One Destiny, Towards a Monetary Union” are the Chairperson of the African Union Commission,  Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the Executive Secretary of IGAD Mahboub Maalim and the Secretary General of Comesa Sindiso Ndema Ngwenya.

Political pundits view their participation at the coronation of Mr Kenyatta as EAC chair for 2014 as a strong statement to back his crusade against the ICC. Mr Kenyatta wants the Hague-based court to suspend his case as long as he is in office as head of state of a sovereign country.

Preparatory technical meetings have been ongoing since last week. Today, the Council of Ministers will start the two-day session to approve documents for signing by the heads of state on Saturday.