EAC team to consult on regional political confederation

A team of eminent constitutional experts drawn from the East Africa Community (EAC) has been deployed in the country to conduct a consultative process with Kenyans ahead of the adoption of a regional political confederation.

The experts led by chairman and former Uganda Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki and his deputy, former Kenya Attorney General Amos Wako are set to seek an audience with President William Ruto  and Kenyans this month on what type of confederal constitution EAC should have.

Speaking after officially launching the national stakeholder’s consultations for drafting of the East African Community (EAC) political confederation constitution meeting in Mombasa yesteyday, EAC Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano said Kenya was  committed to regional integration.

“Since the revival of the EAC in 2000, great strides have been made in the implementation of various pillars of our regional integration. We now have in place the Customs Union Protocol, the EAC Common Market Protocol and the Monetary Union Protocol,” said Miano.

She called upon the public, civil society, religious leaders and the youth to take part in the public participation saying that their views are critical for the growth of the country.

“The team will hold meetings in our former provincial headquarters and will listen to respondents from all the 47 counties. Thereafter, it will sit in Nairobi to listen to other national stakeholders,” said Miano.

 Kenya will become the third country to adopt the model.

The objective of the consultations, both public and private, which will be held in Kakamega, Kisumu , Nyeri, Embu and Nairobi , is to obtain stakeholders’ views that will better inform the drafting of a model Political Confederation and subsequently a Confederal Constitution in line with the principle of a people-centred community.

Participate actively

Speaking at the event, retired Justice Odoki called upon the people to actively participate and inform the EAC Political Confederation Constitution making process.

“We call upon the people of Kenya to come out and express their views and concerns regarding this process,” said Justice Odoki. The whole of this month, the team will be engaging Kenyans all over the country before making its recommendations in a one month.

EAC secretary general Peter Mathuki said the region has made significant progress in our shared economic and social-cultural cooperation and productive and services sectors and more recently, enhanced cooperation in defence and interstate security.

“Every country is committed, as you know DRC joined last year, and they are in the process of integration, and we are also talking with Somalia to see how we can bring them on-board, because when the region is united there is a huge economic benefit,” said Mathuki.

In 2017, the EAC Heads of States adopted the Political Confederation as a transitional model toward the East African Political Federation.

The Confederation model was adopted as a changeover model as it is a less demanding political union and its membership is voluntary, while the membership of a federation is mandatory for all partner states.