Rwanda, Burundi Join East African Community

By Eddyson Lugangwa Posted 01 December 2006 @ 07:25 pm EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

Kampala (IBTimes.com) - Rwanda and Burundi were admitted Thursday to the East African Community, a three nation economic bloc with more than 120 million people. The two countries join Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

"You have joined a vibrant community with a lot of prospects," Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya said at end of their one-day summit he chaired. Although rich in resources, the majority of east Africans are living on less than a dollar a day.

On Oct. 13 the presidents of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania launched national consultations on the creation of a political federation. Planners envision a rotating presidency, separate national governments and a common currency and market by 2010.

Rwanda and Burundi had applied to join the economic community to boost regional trade. Their applications to join had not been acted on for several years as the original members worked to get the five-year-old organization on its feet and set up a customs union that sets common duty rates for imported goods among the countries.

The East African Community is a 1999 revival of the economic bloc formed after independence from Britain in the early 1960s. That original bloc collapsed in 1977 because of internal bickering.

Its most active bodies are its secretariat and customs union, but it also has a court and parliament.
While Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania share a common British colonial legacy, Rwanda and Burundi were colonized by Belgium. The presidents of all five countries attended the summit.