Projects > Brief descriptions > Support to the EAC integration process

Contact person

Mr Niels von Keyserlingk
Email: niels.keyserlingk@giz.de

Support to the EAC integration process

Project description

Title: Support to the EAC integration process
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda
Lead executing agency: Secretariat of the East African Community (EAC), headquartered in Arusha, Tanzania
Overall term: 2004 to 2012

Context

GIZ has been supporting the regional integration process in East Africa since the reestablishment of East African Community (EAC) began in 1996. The EAC is striving to achieve prosperity, competitiveness, security, stability and political unity in East Africa. The objective of the partner countries Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi is to expand and intensify economic, political, social and cultural integration. The quality of life is to be improved through increased competitiveness, added value, trade and investments.

The EAC secretariat is located in Arusha, Tanzania. The creation of a customs union, a common market, a common currency and, on this basis, a confederation of states, are milestones in the integration process.

Objective

The design, coordination and monitoring of the regional integration process is improved through the EAC secretariat.

Approach

The programme involves the provision of advisory services by international and regional experts, training, dialogue and networking, local subsidies for selected national governmental institutions and representative bodies from the private sector and civil society, and a limited supply of materials and equipment. In addition, the programme is providing a financial contribution to the EAC’s Partnership Fund. This fund is being supported by ‘Friends of the EAC’, a network of development partners. The EAC secretariat uses the Fund to acquire support to meet their technical and personnel needs.

Cooperation between GIZ and the EAC secretariat focuses on five priority areas:

Capacity development and organisational development
Support in implementing the Customs Union Protocol and the Common Market Protocol
Institutionalisation of dialogue between the EAC secretariat and both regional trade associations and civil society organisations
Promotion of harmonising value-added tax and consumer tax in the EAC’s member countries
Strengthening the EAC secretariat in the areas of WTO-TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) and promotion of the pharmaceutical sector

Results achieved so far

In the area of organisational development, the programme has made a considerable contribution to mainstreaming monitoring and evaluation in EAC processes, and has helped improve the management and review of activities. Individual coaching – which has been introduced as an innovative personnel development tool within the framework of management training - has helped shape the organisational culture. Furthermore, the programme is rolling out a quality management system for strategic planning to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of processes in the continuously growing organisation.

With GIZ’s support, the EAC secretariat has been a key driving force in implementing the customs union. Expert inputs to the negotiations on a common market helped conclude negotiations swiftly and successfully.

With regard to tax harmonisation, the programme set up an organisational framework for the harmonisation process and established links between the EAC secretariat, the national tax authorities and the private sector. A draft for a harmonised consumer tax law, and an agreement for avoiding double taxation and harmful tax competition are currently being deliberated in the relevant committees, for presentation to the Council of Ministers.

Work with representatives from civil society and the private sector has led to the East African Business Council (EABC) being recognised as an important voice for the private sector. This has enabled the EABC to represent the interests of the regional private sector vis-à-vis the secretariat and high-level decision-makers.

With support from the programme, a regional forum for civil society (East African Civil Society Organisation’s Forum – EACSOF) has been established, which has developed into a competent partner for the EAC. At a meeting of the most important interest groups from the private sector and civil society, recommendations for the EAC Development Strategy 2011–2016 were drawn up, thus playing an active role in the EAC’s long-term development.

The components regarding the promotion of TRIPS and the pharmaceutical sector played a key role in developing a regional political strategy and a protocol for harmonising intellectual property rights in the health sector. The establishment of a regional interest group in the pharmaceutical industry is nearing completion.