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Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda Sign Protocols for Community
Heads of state of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda Monday signed five major protocols to facilitate revival of the East African Community (EAC).
The protocols, signed by Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and host Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa at a summit held Monday morning, covered issues on admitting new members and combating illicit drug trafficking in the East African region.
Addressing the signing ceremony held at the Arusha International Conference Center, Chairman of the first EAC Summit Kenyan President Moi said a new chapter has been ushered in the region's history.
"We have a heavy responsibility to ensure that EAC Treaty is implemented systematically," he said, adding that the partner states have to work hard to ensure that there will be no repetition of what transpired in 1977, which led to the collapse of the community.
The bloc collapsed in 1977, nearly ten years after its birth, partially due to a divergence in political and economic policies among the three countries. Today, the three countries are all pursuing free market economies and policies of privatization, factors they hope will contribute to success this time.
The three heads of state signed the treaty in Arusha for reestablishing the EAC on November 30, 1999 before it was discussed and passed by their respective parliaments.
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