Kenya and East Africa Federation: Hazy Picture?

The presidents of the five countries that comprise the East African Community, have finished the much-awaited summit today, 20th of August 2007.

Among the issues they discussed during the one-day summit included the proposed fast tracking of the East African Federation and the creation of a Common Market.

Fast tracking the EAC federation, they said, was not in the best interest of the EAC citizenry, whose opinions were sought earlier this year about the proposed fast tracking.

In fact the fear rested, according to most of the respondents, in the ‘fact’ that the political ‘atmosphere’ in most of the countries in the community is seemingly ‘unstable’. Thus, going into a federation with such countries that have not set their houses in order would be tantamount to opening a can of worms that would, eventually, wend their way into the fabric of the other countries in the community.

Creation of a common market, the presidents said, would come in the year 2012.

The very idea of the creation of a common market has not gone down well with most people in East Africa. Most Tanzanians, for instance, fear the idea of a common market with ‘Kenya’ at the centre of the picture. They fear that the creation of such a market, which would mean the opening of the borders of the member countries to allow people to work, live and trade anywhere in East Africa, would mean Kenyans flocking into Tanzania. This would, basically, mean Kenyans taking up most of the virgin land, vast land that lies unused, in Tanzania. They also fear that Kenyans would take up their jobs for, as they say, Kenyans are ‘aggressive’ and are a people who rest at nothing till they get what they want. It is also a widely believed ‘notion’ in Tanzania that Kenyans are better educated than them. This, to me, is neither here nor there.

But, all said and done, we should ask ourselves some germane questions:
• Are we wasting our time here?
• Are we wool gathering "the East Africa Federation and common market" into focus or being "insensitively" realistic?
For, it seems, there are some quarters that are deliberately trying to stagnate matters here.