乐鱼 体育

Steve McDonald, director of the Africa Program and the Project on Leadership and Building State Capacity, described this forum on East African intra-trade and infrastructure as a way to 鈥渂ring together the world of ideas and the world of policy so that practitioners and experts 鈥an come together and exchange and learn from each other.鈥� 

H.E. Perezi Kamunanwire, Regional Dean and Ugandan Ambassador to the United States, began the discussion by explaining how East African countries are diverse in terms of history, culture and colonial experience.  To enable regional cooperation, the 鈥渢ask for the group鈥� is to put together an economic community.鈥�  Officially revived in July 2000, the East African Community (EAC) is the realization of this goal.  Stemming from this coalescence, the East African Common Market was created to incorporate all the factors of production and promote the free movement of people, goods, and services.  The regional customs union aims to remove non-tariff barriers between member countries as well as to develop a series of normalized trade standards and external tariffs.  Moreover, the monetary union is 鈥渙ne of the landmarks鈥� along the journey towards making East Africa 鈥渕ore than what it currently is.鈥�  The Ambassador mentioned that 鈥渢he protocol is now in place鈥� to establish a regional currency and is slated to enter into force by April 2013.  Finally, the development of a regional political federation is the most daunting task because it seeks 鈥渢o end the exploitation and abuse of free East African labor鈥� and combat neocolonialism.  This political consortium seeks 鈥渢o identify [and address] other economic and political challenges that face East Africa.鈥�

Even though the EAC has encountered many obstacles, Ambassador Kamunanwire charged that 鈥渨e can now start to see the impact of our integration,鈥� as economic development and foreign direct investment have increased in the region.  However, he remarked that there remained some outstanding infrastructural challenges.  For instance, the continent needs to be joined through transportation systems.  Also, the Ambassador emphasized that 鈥淓ast Africans are a hardworking, highly educated labor force鈥� that should be kept in Africa and that there should be an independent public 鈥渆ducation system that focuses on educating the seas of [youth]鈥� in a variety of subject areas.  According to Ambassador Kamunanwire, if the education system and the opportunities therein are not improved, 鈥渢he brain drain of educated professionals will continue鈥� and 鈥渙ur investment will be lost.鈥�

How Regionalization Can Promote Development

The director of the Kenya Wildlife Services, Julius Kipng鈥檈tich, was optimistic in his assessment of Africa鈥檚 economic potential as he stressed,  鈥渢he [African] population is young and innovative,鈥� and that 鈥渢here are many growing economies with low inflation鈥� and 鈥渋ncredible鈥� amounts of natural resources.  Kipng鈥檈tich then shifted his gaze toward trade and regional integration.  He reasoned that trade markets and practice in Africa were 鈥渙verall pretty small since most people are [still] engaged in subsistence鈥� agriculture.  However, there is a great deal of income and manufacturing potential within the growing middle class and this represents a 鈥渟trong, untapped market.鈥�  鈥淓ast Africa must take trading blocs very seriously鈥� and seize the initiative to build capacity and economic foundations throughout its member states.  鈥淓ast Africa and Africa in general must attract new investors鈥� through the application of the rule of law, the institutionalization of property rights, the removal of corrupt government officials, and the settlement of internal disputes within the region.  The relationships within and outside of the EAC 鈥渘eed to be mutually beneficial鈥� and will be assured if a regional 鈥渃apacity for negotiation鈥� is fostered.  Furthermore, 鈥渁s the economies of Africa expand,鈥� the people of Africa cannot be left behind and must benefit from these development efforts.  鈥淎frica is moving towards being more competitive鈥nd [Africa] needs to鈥ake its emerging place in the world,鈥� Kipng鈥檈tich said.  He concluded by stating that 鈥淎frica is the next development frontier, despite its [development] and education obstacles,鈥� its potential ought to be recognized both at home and abroad.  

The Potential of the U.S. 鈥� EAC Partnership

Florizelle Liser, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, asserted that this 鈥渟ub-region of Africa鈥� was important to the U.S. Government (USG) and that 鈥渞egional integration holds a great promise鈥� for building economies of scale, promoting trade, and protecting its citizens.  Nevertheless, there are still many challenges that hinder the region鈥檚 development and integration.  First, EAC economies are relatively small and the majority of the region is landlocked.  Second, trade among countries has been historically low.  Moreover, the current regional infrastructure is poor and creates high transport costs both locally and internationally and the post-independence tariff barriers between and outside of these countries makes it difficult to maintain trade relationships.  Finally, the poaching of the native wildlife has contributed to the decline in regional tourism.

On the other hand, the EAC has been successful in 鈥減ut[ting] [itself] on a different trajectory.鈥�  By 2010, all internal tariffs were eliminated; non-tariff barriers are expected to be removed shortly.  Also, physical and leadership infrastructure have 鈥渋mproved vastly.鈥�  Liser affirmed that the Obama administration chose to partner with this regional economic community 鈥渂ecause of the work that鈥檚 already been done and the commitment of the leadership within the EAC.鈥�  The USG is looking to support EAC 鈥渢rade capacity building鈥� and would like to engage other trade organizations on interregional, international, and interstate levels so that the indigenous public and private sectors continue to grow.  She said that a fruitful partnership between the U.S. and the EAC must be built on an 鈥渙ngoing dialogue鈥� that will reinforce the region鈥檚 political and economic integration.

The Future of East African Cooperation

East Africa is a region with budding investment and development potential.  However, challenges to realizing the region鈥檚 capabilities persist.  To combat these obstacles, political, economic, and social integration of the region must be tangible.  In Ambassador Kamunanwire鈥檚 opinion, internal and external cooperation is working to achieve East Africa鈥檚 development goals and ensure that 鈥渢he future of East Africa [is] in the hands of East Africans themselves.鈥�