EAST African Community (EAC) member states have been advised to fulfill the requirements of the new Common Market Protocol scheduled to be signed next month if they wanted a healthy grouping. Dean of Faculty of Law at the University of Dar es Salaam, who was also involved in the negotiations and design of the protocol, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi said that the survival of the protocol would depend on how the members implement it.
The protocol is just a documentyou may have a good one but without commitment to fulfilling what was agreed upon, it wont be possible to achieve the objectives, he said. Prof. Kabudi made the comment yesterday in Dar es Salaam when giving a lecture to members of Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) on the current issues related to the EAC negotiations.
When signed, the protocol would enable free movement of goods, persons, service and capital within the member states and according to Prof. Kabudi, free movement does not mean there will be no restrictions.
He said the protocol had been completed after long discussions between member states and that Tanzanias input helped to shape it become the best document. Prof. Kabudi said after negotiations in April this year, some member states blamed Tanzania for what they described as reluctance to fast tracking the protocol but Tanzania maintained her stance.
Now we have agreed that the agreement must be implemented on the principles of pragmatism and gradualism- no fast tracking, he noted. Prof. Kabudi also advised Tanzania to take advantage of the coming common market by producing industrial products for export to the member states and beyond.
He said it was important especially now when Kenya, the strongest economy in the region, will start to export goods without tax by January, next year in accordance with the Custom Union Agreement signed five years ago.
Daily News
Post published in: Uncategorized