Partnerships, Unions, Associations and such other groupings (including marriage) which are formed for a common purpose, have key ingredients for success some of which include commitment and perseverance. Even when things do not seem to be working well and when difficulties arise, the option should not be to leave but rather find solutions to deal with the difficulties. In some circumstances, however, this is not an option. The United Kingdom decided by majority vote to leave the European Union (EU) as a sign of disgruntlement regarding a number of difficulties arising from their membership. I will not comment on options that could have been pursued but rather lessons that the EU could learn from the East African Community. While the EU has been around for four decades and has provided experiences that the EAC has learnt from, this time round, the EAC has something to teach the EU.

The main issue for UK’s departure from the EU was immigration. Their membership to the EU led to large migration of various EU nationals into the UK. It was felt that this was putting a strain on their economy and services such as health including job scarcity for UK citizens. In my research, l found various unofficial statistics regarding numbers of migrants with conservative estimates of about 5 per cent of the population constituting of migrants.

Migration on its own should not be a problem because migrants bring benefits to the economy. By their membership to the EU, the UK should have known that this was bound to happen. Instead, the UK should have pushed for reform of freedom of movement. Unlike the EU, the EAC has taken conscious steps and a gradual approach, critiqued as “conservative” by some that allows professionals to work in EAC countries as agreed under the Common Market Protocol. The EAC has, however, allowed individual countries to work out deals that suit their circumstances. For example, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda have signed an agreement to liberalise the movement of labour. Such agreements do not violate the Common Market Protocol and enable countries to meet deadlines set in the Common Market Protocol. The lesson here is exercise caution when opening labour markets. In years to come, l am confident that the EAC will eventually open up allowing all citizens irrespective of their qualifications to move freely within the territory.

Economic theory provides that economic integration takes several stages starting from a free trade area, Customs Union, Common Market, Economic Union and for EAC, political integration. Ideally, an economic bloc is expected to implement the stages of integration sequentially. Unlike other economic blocs that have indeed followed the sequential approach, the EAC has chosen its own path, incorporating and implementing elements from the customs union and common market concurrently. For this approach, the EAC has been highly criticised for its ambitious timetable, unrealistic aspirations and inability to deliver results to its people. In truth, a few years back, the EAC was seen to be stagnant oscillating between moving the Customs Union forward and implementing the Common Market with some countries seen to be holding others back. However, reading away from the text, the EAC found its feet and has proved the naysayers wrong.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.