REGULATING RESIDENCE AND EMPLOYMENT IN EAST AFRICA- LESSONS LEARNED

BY MR. PINIEL O. MGONJA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRATION (TANZANIA)

PRESENTATION TO THE INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUE ON MIGRATION – INTERSESSIONAL WORKSHOP ON FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS IN REGIONAL INTERGRATION PROCESSES GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, 18-19 JUNE 2007.

1 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS • Tanzania is a member of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community SADC.

• EAC Countries are Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, with a total population of about 98.3 million.

• Cooperation in East Africa has a long history, from the colonial era. In 1947 the EAC had already established the East African Customs Union.

• Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the first President of Tanzania proposed to delay Tanganyika’s independence so that Kenya and Uganda could join the latter to move to independence as a single entity.

2 • The first EAC was established on 1967.

• At the time of its demise in 1977 EA was already in the common market.

• East Africans moved more or less freely in the Region.

• The current EAC draws its strength from lessons learnt from the defunct 1967-1977EAC.

• Experience tells that a strong and sound EAC must be people centred.

3 THE MAP OF THE EAC

4 REVIVAL OF EAC

• The EAC Treaty which was signed in 1999 specifies four main stages of the integration process namely Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union and Political federation.

5 FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT IN EAC

• Article 104 of the East African Treaty, the partner states agreed to adopt measures to achieve the free movement of persons, labour and services and to ensure the enjoyment of the right of establishment and residence of their citizens within the Community.

6 7 IMPLEMENTATION • Efforts that have been made towards implementation of the Protocol include, inter alia:

• Issuance of EAC Passports • Designing of a single Immigration entry/departure cards • Harmonisation of procedures of issuance of entry/work permits • Issuance of Inter-state passes

8 IMPLEMENTATION... • Issuance of Identity Cards to nationals by Uganda and Tanzania

• Border control manuals and

• The facilitation of EAC delegates across borders.

9 CHALLENGES • Social, economic and security factors are important elements to be considered in the process towards the realization of free movement in the EAC Region.

• There is, however no going back in the process towards integration in Africa, in general and in East Africa, in particular.

• And because of the lessons learnt in the defunct EAC of 1967-1977, the East African region is moving towards integration cautiously but with optimism.

• Concerted efforts at confidence building among Member States need be enhanced from within the region and outside.

10 CONCLUSION • Freedom of movement is indispensable for any Regional integration process to succeed.

• Laws and procedures as stipulated in the EAC or even the SADC Treaty should be matched with concrete actions so as to foster a sense of oneness among citizens of participating states.

• The East African Countries have no capacity to move faster and realize the objectives of the Community alone without the support and encouragement of the International Community.

11 CONCLUSION…

• Successful integration processes like that of the European Union have a lot to offer to our nascent initiatives like the EAC and SADC.

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