The East African project: A make or break for Pan-Africanism?

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Recently, EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki announced that plans for launching a single East African currency are well underway. “This year we are going to finalize where we will have the East African Monetary institute – the constitution that will create a roadmap for having one currency. Hopefully in the next 3-4 years will have a common currency” the Secretary General stated in a speech during a five-day retreat for EAC policy makers and officials at Maanzoni Lodge in Machakos County. He also mentioned plans to review Somalia’s admission into the bloc, citing its maritime trade potential.


The East African Community

Progress on the project had seemingly stalled and deadlines for such moves stalled. Moreover, member states have demonstrated their willingness to guarantee peace and stability in the region by sending peacekeeping forces to its newest member, the Democratic Republic of Congo. If successful, it could bulk up East Africa’s capability to bring peace to other troubled states like South Sudan or even future potential member states like Somalia.


The response to these all these moves has been received quite positively on social media spaces like twitter. However, I came to a realization that these moves, while positive, haven’t been engaged with by the larger public and especially outside social media sites. It is not surprising given how little ordinary citizens actually engage with the East African project. How many people, for example, actually know of the existence of the East African anthem, let alone being aware of its existence? Phenomenal professor and philosopher Wandia Njoya (@wmnjoya on twitter) had this to say concerning adoption of a single East African currency: 


A common currency will facilitate not trade but exploitation with no democratic control. The Mt. Kenya mafia wants a regional currency because they have a lot of cash with no markets. It sounds strange, given that the Kenya economy is doing so badly. But that is the point. 

 

Essentially, she pointed out that a single currency would make it easier for Kenya’s capitalist elites and the political class to collaborate with the elites of other resource rich nations like DRC to exploit and extract resources while creating markets for their goods. My knee-jerk reaction would have been to come to the defense of the East African project. However, upon critical inspection, I realized that East African citizens are shockingly left out of the discussions pertaining to the project itself. I found it surprisingly less shocking upon realizing that people hardly engage with their nationality in the first place. This is all intentional of course. The less people engage with nation building, both at the level of the individual member states and at an East African level, the more the system is designed in favor of those at the top.


What economic system, for example, would the East African currency serve? This is critical as it defines the beneficiaries of said currency. Capitalism does not in any way benefit the poor and working classes, no matter how strong it may make the currency. In fact, it will only serve to reinforce the class structures of capitalism. What would be the reserve currency of East Africa, the dollar? If so, it defeats the whole Pan-African vision for East Africa as a sovereign power capable of calling for continental unity, advocating for black consciousness and speaking truth to the western powers that have kept Africa solidly under its hegemony. These, among many others, are issues that need to be addressed otherwise what the professor cites will indeed come to fruition, the creation of a unified East African bourgeoisie that will retain significantly high political and economic benefits. As a Kenyan, it is disappointing to see representation of Kenya at the East African Legislative assembly defined by the sons and daughters of Kenya’s political establishment, all in the name of preventing the establishment from turning the larger population against itself to avenge the disenfranchisement of political elites.


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East Africa has been lauded on the African continent as the most promising bloc to achieve integration. I support East African integration; however, it is foolish to believe that integration is justified no matter how it occurs. Herein lays the fundamental problem. The East African project is regarded as Africa’s most promising Pan-African project on unity. However, if that unity does not live up to the expectations making the region significantly more politically and economically equitable, it will be regarded as a failure of Pan-Africanism as a concept which is a fate that must be avoided at all costs. How can that happen though when the process of nation building is gate-kept to the political establishments of member states rather than involving the citizenry at large, no matter the cost?


It is the duty of Pan-Africans to speak out against the political machinations of the establishment and also ensure citizens are well informed of the significance of this project as well as the dangers if said project is hijacked and used for the ill intentions of the very same establishments that bask in the glory of playing second fiddle to outside powers like USA, China and the European Union. If we get it right, East Africa might make the dreams and hopes of Pan-Africanism come into fruition, inspiring integration of regional blocs across the continent and pioneering African unity, a boon for our socio-economic well being. If we don’t, East Africa will be a failed experiment that could lead to tragic fallout or bind East African citizens to a kleptocratic capitalist political and economical establishment. We must not be passive in the process of East African nation building. We must prevent the systemic failures of our current political establishment from being perpetuated through a larger, more consequential East African state.


(The article above was written by writer George Kiritu Chege)

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