VZCZCXYZ0009
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDR #0865/01 1660734
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 150734Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6317
INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA PRIORITY 3207
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA PRIORITY 2550
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA PRIORITY 3028
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI PRIORITY 0978
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0312
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY 0683
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0220
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0442

UNCLAS DAR ES SALAAM 000865 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/E FOR BYODER, AF/EPS FOR THASTINGS 
DEPT PASS TO USTR FOR WJACKSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR AU MISSION 
ALSO ADDIS FOR LBRODEY 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PREL SENV TZ
SUBJECT: EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY:  INTEGRATION, FEDERATION, 
RATIFICATION 
 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
¶1. (U)  The East African Community (EAC) is ready to formally 
accept two new members, Burundi and Rwanda, at the upcoming 
EAC summit in Kampala on June 18.  Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania 
have concluded the consultative process on political 
federation and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement 
(TIFA) with the USG is being reviewed and considered at the 
working level by EAC officials.  The EAC is still awaiting 
ratification of the Protocol on the Environment and Natural 
Resources Management, which was initially endorsed in April 
¶2006.  End summary. 
 
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement 
---------------------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU)  EAC officials have referred the USG draft of a 
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement to the EAC Legal 
Department, according to Dr. Caleb Weggoro, Head of Sectoral 
Policies and Programs at the East African Community 
Secretariat.  Uledi Mussa, Director of Infrastructure in the 
 
SIPDIS 
Ministry of East African Cooperation, also confirmed to 
EconOff June 4 that the EAC has the TIFA under consideration 
and review.  Weggoro noted that since the EAC officials and 
lawyers are still reviewing the TIFA language, if the EAC 
were to announce that it was considering entering into a 
TIFA, officials would need to be prepared to answer questions 
on the subject, implying they were not yet ready to do so. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  EconOff emphasized that USTR and Embassy officials 
were ready to discuss the TIFA with EAC officials to answer 
questions or concerns at the earliest convenient time, either 
in person or via a conference call.  Weggoro told EconOff 
that such consultations could help assure that a TIFA would 
be "half and half;" that is, include elements that came from 
the EAC as well as from the USG.  Weggoro added that, along 
with a TIFA, the EAC is "considering other avenues," 
including Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with the 
European Union which hosted a conference in Nairobi on the 
subject at the end of May 2007. 
 
New Members 
----------- 
¶4. (U)  Weggoro confirmed that the preparations for the two 
new EAC members are nearly complete; Rwanda and Burundi are 
expected to sign accession treaties at the June 18 EAC summit 
in Kampala, to become effective July 1.  Thereafter, Rwanda 
and Burundi will select their representatives to the East 
African Legislative Assembly and the East African Community 
Court of Justice.  Dr. Weggoro stressed that after July 1, 
the work begins afresh as the systems of Rwanda and Burundi 
are "very different" from those of the founding members of 
the EAC.  Regarding the language of the EAC, Weggoro said 
Rwanda has embraced English; although Burundi has said it 
also will accept English, in fact, Burundians do not use 
English in practice.  Therefore, the EAC will have to use 
French in addition to English "at least for a while," said 
Weggoro. 
 
Regional Economic Community Integration 
--------------------------------------- 
¶5. (U)  Officials from the African regional economic 
communities (RECs) held their quarterly meeting on Zanzibar 
on May 28 and 29.  Key topics under discussion were the 
integration of the RECs and Economic Partnership Agreements 
(EPAs).  Weggoro confirmed it is understood among officials 
of the regional economic communities including SADC, COMESA 
and the EAC, that there eventually would be one African 
Economic Community down the road, noting that the African 
Union's charter states the RECs are building blocks of the 
Union. 
 
 
Political Federation 
-------------------- 
¶6. (SBU)  Reports on the consultative process regarding 
political federation of the EAC are expected to be presented 
at the EAC heads of state summit on June 18 and an 
 
announcement may follow regarding the political federation. 
In Weggoro's view, political federation is a foregone 
conclusion and only the timing is the real issue.  Weggoro 
said that the National Committees for the Consultative 
Process on the East African Political Federation had erred by 
framing the issue as whether or not to establish a political 
federation.  He believed the more accurate question should 
have been: how and when to create such a federation. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Elvis Musiba, President of the Tanzanian Chamber of 
Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), told PolCouns 
June 3 that he served for three months on the national 
committee that polled Tanzanian citizens' views on the 
political federation of the EAC.  His team was sent to many 
rural regions of Tanzania and to the city of Mwanza.  Musiba 
said the opinions he heard overall indicated that about 70 
per cent of the Tanzanians polled were in favor of political 
federation with the remainder against or held no opinion. 
However, of those in favor, 80 percent stressed there was no 
need to "fast track" the political federation:  let it 
develop "in time."  The remaining 20 percent expressed the 
view: "the sooner the better" to create an EAC political 
federation. 
 
Environment Protocol 
-------------------- 
¶8. (U)  The EAC is the first regional economic community in 
Africa to develop a Protocol on Environment and Natural 
Resources Management.  Signed on April 3, 2006, the member 
states have yet to ratify the protocol.  However, the 
national management authorities who participated in its 
drafting do not consider the fact the Protocol has not been 
ratified to date as opposition or dissatisfaction with the 
objectives and substance of the document.  Under the 
Protocol, national resource management authorities are tasked 
to monitor activities in their country on behalf of the EAC 
and to share information with other member states. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶9. (SBU)  Dr. Flora Musonda, the EAC Director of Trade, 
confirmed to the Embassy June 11 that the Trade and 
Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the USG is not on 
the agenda to be discussed at the upcoming June 18 summit 
meeting.  While the memberships of Burundi and Rwanda and how 
to practically integrate them into the EAC appear to be the 
top agenda items for the Kampala meeting, post will continue 
to press EAC officials to consult with USTR or the Embassy to 
answer any questions or concerns about the implementation of 
a TIFA. 
DELLY