Argument: Conflicts and insecurity in the region will be resolved.

Widening the East African Community will help provide a strong force and voice against insecurities, conflicts and insurgencies that have torn apart much of the region.

The current EAC member states have been at the fore front of maintaining peace and security in the region, with Burundi, Kenya and Uganda sending troops to Somalia and Rwanda sending troops to Darfur and CAR.

In March 2012, the USAID assessment on East Africa regional conflict and instability highlighted that the revival and expansion of the EAC would favour a vision of promoting peace in the region (1) pointing out the Lamu project aimed at creating a transport corridor linking South Sudan to northern Kenya and the coast. Widening the bloc will make it easy for member states to support their peacekeeping missions through the East Africa community military command and also help reduce interstate invasions like Sudan and South Sudan or Rwanda and DRC as they will now be united with more closely aligned interests.

(1) USAID, ‘East Africa Regional conflict and instability Assessment, usaid.gov, March 2012, http://conflict.care2share.wikispaces.net/file/view/USAID%20East%20Africa%20Conflict%20Assessment%20March2012.pdf/393864676/USAID%20East%20Africa%20Conflict%20Assessment%20March2012.pdf

Candidate 1: "The EAC is not yet ready to fully support its missions. The East African Community military command have not helped in prevention of terrorist attacks in Kenya nor has it been able to stop the prolonged insecurities and conflicts in Burundi, besides it still needs improvement. The unity between Kenya and Uganda did not stop conflicts arising over ownership of Migingo islands on lake Victoria; membership would not mean that South Sudan and Sudan suddenly have similar interests or ameliorate their conflict.

Rwanda and Uganda have been recently accused of supporting insecurity in Eastern Congo (1), and the peace keeping missions in Somalia and Darfur are both AU and UN initiatives not the EAC. In practice the bloc is not yet ready to embark on such wider missions.

(1) Louis, Charbonneau, and Michelle, Nicholls ‘Rwanda, Uganda arming Congo rebels- UN panel’, reuters.com, 17/10/2012 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/17/us-congo-democratic-rwanda-uganda-idUSBRE89F1RQ20121017"
Candidate 2: "Widening the bloc will also widen the burden of satisfying all member states which will affect economic development. The discovery of oil in Uganda has prompted concerns about how it will be extracted as a result of a green light to foreign companies to do the job [1], and Rwanda’s natural gas remain untouched due to a lack of skilled labour despite the EAC freedom of movement policies. Why then bring a bigger burden of un-extracted mineral resources that cannot be handled by EAC? And the fact that Kenya has been able to profit from such integration has not done much to lift Burundi from extreme poverty Or prevent Tanzania’s slow growth [2]. When all members are looking to export natural resources there are few benefits to the bloc, the members find themselves competing in export markets.

[1] Oil review, ‘Uganda to sign oil drilling agreement with international oil firms’, oilreviewafrica.com, 15 April 2013, http://www.oilreviewafrica.com/exploration/exploration/uganda-to-sign-oil-drilling-agreement-with-international-oil-firms

[2] IMF, ‘Truly integrated market would bring benefits to East Africa’, imf.org, 15 March 2012, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2012/CAR031512A.htm"
Candidate 3: "Pan-Africanism is more a dream than a reality. Widening the East African Community would actually alter and destroy the meaning of Pan-Africanism because of the many challenges that come with such integration (1). Currently there are disputes within the EAC itself with Tanzania and Burundi claiming to be sidelined from the other three states. People will never at any moment feel more East Africans than citizens of a particular country; recently Rwandans who had lived in Tanzania for years were forcibly deported by the government (2) despite the fact that both countries are member states of the EAC and signed free movement into law. This is enough to explain how things would be a mess if rival countries like DRC, Sudan and Somalia were to join the bloc.

(1) United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, ‘Assessing regional integration in Africa’, uneca.org, Vol.V, http://www.uneca.org/publications/assessing-regional-integration-africa-v

(2) Catherine, Byaruhanga, ‘Thousands deported from Tanzania to Rwanda’, bbc.co.uk, 2 Sept 2013 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/18810.stm"
Candidate 4: "Widening the EAC will affect the emerging education systems. Most of the countries with interest to join the EAC are characterised by poor education systems. Bringing Somalia, South Sudan and DRC, into the community would bring a huge challenge to the existing systems. The inter university council of education is a new established body, policies like harmonising the education curricula are still in process of implementation and this cannot be rated a success at the moment let alone be expanded to millions more children and youths. Additionally, there are still current member states like Burundi with crippled education systems (1), why not first focus internally and deepen these institutions before expanding?

(1) Concern worldwide, Burundi, ‘education’, concernusa.org http://www.concernusa.org/burundi"

The EAC is not yet ready to fully support its missions. The East African Community military command have not helped in prevention of terrorist attacks in Kenya nor has it been able to stop the prolonged insecurities and conflicts in Burundi, besides it still needs improvement. The unity between Kenya and Uganda did not stop conflicts arising over ownership of Migingo islands on lake Victoria; membership would not mean that South Sudan and Sudan suddenly have similar interests or ameliorate their conflict.

Rwanda and Uganda have been recently accused of supporting insecurity in Eastern Congo (1), and the peace keeping missions in Somalia and Darfur are both AU and UN initiatives not the EAC. In practice the bloc is not yet ready to embark on such wider missions.

(1) Louis, Charbonneau, and Michelle, Nicholls ‘Rwanda, Uganda arming Congo rebels- UN panel’, reuters.com, 17/10/2012 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/17/us-congo-democratic-rwanda-uganda-idUSBRE89F1RQ20121017
