Dar likely to maintain stance on deal with EU

Arusha. Tanzania is likely to maintain its hard line stance on the Economic Partnership Agreement (Epa) with the European Union during Thursday’s Summit of East African Community Heads of State in Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania is expected to push for an extension of the October 1 deadline set by the EU at the meeting at State House, Dar es Salaam.

The country’s position remains that it is  not ready to sign the document, and this will be communicated to Heads of State of the other EAC member countries, namely Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

Tanzania’s delegation to the meeting of the Council of Ministers, which took place earlier in the week, maintained that the country was not prepared to sign the Epa for now and wanted the EU to push the deadline back so that the EAC partner states do not lose out as a result of its delay in signing the agreement.

A report of the ministerial meeting held at the EAC headquarters in Arusha on Monday seen by The Citizen said Tanzania reiterated its position that it wanted to conduct an “in-depth analysis” of the situation.

The UK’s exit from the EU is among reasons cited by Tanzania for its reluctance to sign the Epa alongside other EAC partners that have decided to do so.

The decision is likely to throw today’s Summit into disarray given the sharp divisions that have emerged.

Burundi, which has aligned itself with Tanzania on various contentious issues that have emerged within the bloc in recent years, has also listed a number of reasons why it is not ready to sign the Epa, with the country’s delegates saying further consultations are necessary.

“Burundi does not believe the current Epa text takes into account her economic interests, particularly with regard to her current relations with the EU,” the report said, adding that Burundi’s representatives informed Council of Ministers meeting that the country’s economy was in doldrums due to a drawn-out political crisis.

Burundian officials were recently quoted saying they had little interest in the Epa following the EU’s suspension of aid to the country after President Pierre Nkurunziza won a contentious third term last year.

Uganda, which had earlier sided with Tanzania in objecting to the signing of the pact, announced last week that it was ready for the deal, and urged Dar es Salaam to drop its reservations about the Epa.