THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE MAGAZINE ISSUE #006 The African Business Fortune Magazine | Page 45

US$147b
Combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of
EAC with a population
of 145.5million citizens

Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport
(LAPSSET) corridor project which will
strengthen her position as a gateway
and a transport and logistics hub to
the East African sub-region and the
Great Lakes region to facilitate trade
and regional interconnectivity in Africa.
Combined Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of EAC is US$147.5billion, with
a population of 145.5million citizens.
Kenya has the largest economy, with
annual GDP of US$ 32.1 billion which
sums up 41 per cent of the bloc’s GDP,
while Burundi is the poorest with an
average nominal per capita GDP of
US$ 180 billion.
Common protocols
Further, the region’s member states
have been focusing on three critical
common protocols- common market,
customs union, monetary union and
lately, common education- to smoothen operations within the bloc.
Common market protocol, an ex-

pansion of the bloc’s existing customs
union, aims at promoting free movement
of labour, capital, goods and services
within the region. To adapt to the demands, countries must change their national laws on immigration and customs.
Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi have already
agreed to waive work permit fees for EAC
citizens.
In an effort aimed at achieving a single
currency, the region’s states are to harmonise monetary and fiscal policies,
fiscal payment and settlement systems,
financial accounting and reporting practices, policies and standards on statistical
information and establish an East African
Central Bank.
Then recently, the bloc has been focusing on harmonising the education systems in the region’s partner states so as
to boost skills, develop knowledge and
reduce brain drain.
Once a common EAC Higher Education
Area (EACHEA) is created, qualifications

will be recognised in all partner states both
for continuation of studies and in the labour
market.
“The most important development will be
the elimination of the disparity in the national education systems when the EAC will be
declared an EACHEA,” stated Prof Mayunga
Nkunya, the executive secretary of the InterUniversity Council for East Africa (IUCEA).
New state
Finally, EAC’s economy is set to rise after
it admitted South Sudan as a sixth partner
state to the trading bloc.
The oil rich country’s admission to the
bloc early 2016 will be a game changer as it
will immensely improve the energy sector
and work force in the region.
With corruption es