ORGANISATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION INSTITUTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY by MARIAM FATUMA AKOTH OMORO submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS OF ARTS in the subject PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF. JOHN MAFUNISA CO-SUPERVISOR: MR. RASHID KALEMA NOVEMBER 2008 Title of dissertation: ORGANISATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION INSTITUTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY Summary: This study sought to establish the critical underpinnings for the organisational effectiveness of regional integration institutions (RIIs). The interest arose out of a general observation of failure by RIIs in Africa to effectively achieve the objectives for which they were established. Informed by theories of organisational effectiveness, the study hypothesised that RIIs are likely to be effective in achieving the objectives for which they were established if the basic fundamentals of organisational effectiveness theory are embedded in their institutional structures, systems and processes. The East African Community (EAC) was used as a unit of analysis. A comparative analysis of the world’s most advanced RII, the European Union (EU) was also undertaken. The findings revealed that the basic fundamentals of organisational effectiveness theory are only weakly ingrained in the EAC while deeply embedded in the EU. Recommendations were made on how the EAC could improve its organisational effectiveness. Key terms: Institution, Organisation; Effectiveness; Efficiency; Organisational effectiveness; Regional integration; Intergovernmental organisation; Regional integration institution; East African Community; European Union; Political will; Organisational culture; Variable geometry; Customs union; Common market; Monetary union; Political federation. DECLARATION I declare that Organisational Effectiveness of Regional Integration Institutions: A Case Study of the East African Community is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ................................................................... .............................................. Mariam Fatuma Akoth Omoro Date 3660-292-2 i DEDICATION To Gershon Fumbuka who taught me that there is no tragedy in life that is too big for me to overcome. May the principle of reciprocity enrich your life with the kindness with which you have blessed my life. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to convey my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the following people: First, to Amb. Juma Volter Mwapachu who has the attitude and the substance of a genius, for suggesting to me the initial idea for the topic of this dissertation and in so doing introduced me to a fascinating subject which will forever be of interest to me. Despite your busy schedule as Secretary General of the East African Community, you displayed great interest in my academic progress and always found time to peruse my work. This dissertation has benefited greatly from your wonderful insights, perspectives and guidance. Secondly, to my colleague Mr. Gerald Ajumbo, a remarkably intelligent man who likes to shy away from the limelight. It would be a disservice not to acknowledge the great role you played in this dissertation. I can only describe you as a ‘Master Editor’ who can take five pages of a document and summarise it into one page without the document loosing meaning. Not only have you encouraged and challenged me throughout the writing of this dissertation but you have also provided me with a warm and supportive friendship. I thank you. Thirdly, to my intellectual mentor and Supervisor, Prof. John Mafunisa for his patience and intellectual prowess that kept my academic spirit and quest for knowledge upbeat; a situation which has seen me through this dissertation. Given my geographic location in East Africa and yours in South Africa, distance should have been a problem, but you always endeavoured to respond to my emails and took time to speak to me on phone. As if not enough, you also warmly received me on the three occasions I visited your office in Tshwane/Pretoria and guided me on how to proceed with the dissertation. Without your stewardship, this dissertation would not have been accomplished. Fifthly, special thanks go to Mr. Magaga Alot for accepting to provide language editing services for this dissertation despite his busy schedule as Head, Department of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, EAC. The language, grammar and logical flow of this dissertation have greatly benefited from your input. I thank you. iii Last but not least, and however desirable, it is not feasible to mention all those who assisted me in the process of writing this dissertation. I profoundly express my deeper gratitude to you all. However, I hasten to extend my special appreciation to the Ministers; Permanent Secretaries; officials of Ministries in the EAC Partner States; staff of the East African Community Secretariat, Assembly and Court; Members of Parliament of the East African Legislative Assembly; Judges of the East African Court of Justice; as well as members and staff of the East African Business Council and East African Law Society who sacrificed their time to respond to my questionnaires and to hold interviews with me. You provided invaluable insights which will help us all build a more effective East African Community. iv ABSTRACT This study was triggered by an observation that many regional integration institutions (RIIs) in Africa have fallen short of effectively delivering on their mandates. The objective of the study, therefore, was to generate a deeper understanding of some of the key factors that determine the organisational effectiveness of RIIs. Informed by public administration theories of organisational effectiveness, the study hypothesised that RIIs are likely to be effective in achieving the objectives for which they were established if the basic fundamentals of organisational effectiveness theory are embedded in their institutional structures, systems and processes. In this context, the fundamentals of organisational effectiveness core to successful institutions identified included: clarity of purpose, facilitative organisational culture, rational organisation structure and processes, ability to acquire and manage adequate resources, internal harmony, satisfaction of strategic constituencies, transformational leadership, ability to adapt to change and, in the specific case of RIIs, which are public sector institutions, adequate political will. In seeking to achieve the research objective, the study used the East African Community (EAC) as a unit of analysis. The EAC was analysed from the premise of the fundamentals of organisational effectiveness theory identified and determination was made on the extent to which these fundamentals are ingrained in its institutional structure, systems and processes. A comparative analysis of the institutional framework of the world’s most successful RII, that is, the European Union (EU), was also undertaken to establish how the fundamentals of organisational effectiveness theory are embodied in its organisational system. The aim of this comparative review was to draw on best practices that can inform the kind of changes that can be introduced in the EAC to spur greater organisational effectiveness. The study utilised a quantitative and qualitative research design in data collection. This involved the design and distribution of questionnaires covering questions that focused on the basic fundamentals of organisational effectiveness and how the EAC organs respond to them to key EAC stakeholders, face to face interviews with respondents who preferred to be interviewed, analysis of official reports and policy documents of the EAC and EU and analysis of relevant journal and newspaper articles. v Data analysis was mainly descriptive and narrative. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to generate simple frequencies from the data received from questionnaires and interviews. The views of the majority were then analysed. Where the views were split in the middle, meaning no clear majority view was discerned, both sides of the views received were analysed. The study revealed an overwhelming consensus among the EAC’s key stakeholders that the EAC had not effectively achieved the objectives for which it was established. The study further revealed that the main reasons for the shortcoming rest on EAC’s weak institutional structures, systems and processes. In other words, a deficit of some key fundamentals of organisational effectiveness theory. In contrast, a comparative analysis of the EU revealed that the basic fundamentals of organisational effectiveness theory are well ingrained in the EU’s institutional structures, processes and systems which explains why the EU has achieved organisational effectiveness. These findings seemed to support the hypothesis that guided the study. Recommendations based on the findings point to the need to re-orient the institutional framework of the EAC if the EAC is to better realise its goals and objectives. This would involve, among others, formulating a more succinct vision and mission for the EAC, developing a Staff Code of Conduct and Ethics, developing a more pro-active mechanism of financing the EAC, improving the terms and conditions of service of staff, separating powers between the key organs of the EAC, reflecting the aspirations of the private