OPINION: Who really cares about East African integration?

While President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda is trying to popularise the new constitution for the East African Federation, Burundi is pointing an accusing finger at Rwanda after gunmen, alleged to have come from the country, stormed and killed several people.

All this happens after the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat announced postponement of Heads of State and Government Summit, which was scheduled for the end of November. The meeting will now be held next year.

This comes amid widely circulating reports that the regional body faces serious financial problems. The EAC secretariat has refuted the reports.

We hear from far that an application by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to join the regional grouping will be discussed in the next summit.

This will be happening at the time discussions and decision on Somali’s application to join the body was still pending.

Well, you might think that allowing DRC to join EAC will be a bad idea given the security instability and other sorts of problems which the country faces, but if that is the case, even South Sudan would not have become an EAC member.

This is the mix of East Africa which we hate to love because it is our home and it belongs to us.

Unfortunately, all that has been mentioned above is not happening for the first time and I can bet my salary that this is not the last time we hear something like that.

In their speeches, EAC leaders, jointly or separately, sought to assure people of the region that they are committed to building a strong people-centred regional group. But these statements leave many questioning their commitment to walk the talk.

When they go back home, these leaders act completely the opposite.Todate, Uganda and Rwanda do not see eye to eye. The common border between the two countries has remained closed for months now.

As noted earlier, Burundi and Rwanda are also not in talking terms. Accusations and counter accusations between the two countries have been the order of the day.

South Sudan is always looking at Uganda and the rest of EAC members suspiciously after they have decided to actively stay away from political problems which the country faces since the youngest nation came into being.

Though the leaders have been all along boasting that they are building the people-centred regional body, participation of people in the regional integration has always been rhetoric and distant.

Regional programs and projects which aim at bringing together people in the region have remained in papers. Apart from projects on lake Victoria and may be one stop centres in several borders, there have not been tangible initiatives which show the region is indeed advocating for the people-centred integration.

Recently, EAC launched what is called Citizens Engagement Campaign as part of celebrations to mark its 20th Anniversary.

According to EAC secretariat, ‘The EAC I Deserve’ dubbed campaign targets to reach more than 10 million East Africans over the next one year.

The campaign has been designed to, among other things, include social media interfaces and a regional Youth Videos and Animations Competition involving all the six EAC Partner States. Some $25,000 has been set aside for awards to winners, mainly young people, who will take part in the competition.

Everyone knows that the East African integration would not have been in the political, economic and social levels as it is today if youths had not fully been involved and embraced from the beginning. But it is only after 20 years that our leaders seek to lure youths into the integration agenda with a $25,000 award!

Youths will understand if you tell them today that the bloc is theirs and the EAC Vision 2050 is their future. Usually youths operate for today.

They would like to share the future themselves but our leaders have held the regional body and they don’t want to let it go. This is another rhetoric campaign which will not result in youth engagement in regional integration.