A recent declaration made by the East African Community (EAC) Secretary General reveals that plans to admit Somalia into the East African regional block are entered into an advanced stage. Among the advantages that the Somalia accession to the EAC can bring to the Community, the Secretary General points out the strategic position of the country, noting that with his about 3,200 Km. of coastline, the landlocked and semi-landlocked partner States of the Community (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda), will gain access to other ports in addition to Mombasa and Dar-es-Salaam, that currently handle most of their trade, as also discussed in this video.

Read more...

An article recently published on The East African deals with a particularly important topic, namely the low degree of ratification and implementation of Treaties, Recommendations and Decisions adopted by the African Union (AU). The article notes that most of regulatory policies, tools and frameworks adopted at continental level, after many years of adoption, still suffer from a poor level of implementation or domestication at national level, basically because of a lack of political will by the AU State members. The consequence is that a number of commitments and goals agreed at continental level get stuck in their operationalization phase. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement - together with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights - seems to be an exception, as it is close to universal ratification. But also in this case, the risk is high that after the initial enthusiasm in adopting such Agreement, governments can delay its operationalization by becoming cautious, due to a lack of buy-in by those that should benefit from such Agreement, or to doubts that it will penalise or sacrifice national interests. This is why events like the Africa Prosperity Dialogues, planned for the end of January in Accra, Ghana, are particularly critical to maintain a high degree of commitment to the AfCFTA by African Heads of States and Governments.

Read more...