Official: East African market negotiations enter final round

KAMPALA, March 30 -- Negotiators from the five East African

Community (EAC) member states are meeting here to finalize a draft protocol

aimed at establishing the EAC Common Market by January 2010, an official said

here on Monday.

"These have been very intensive series of negotiations, we have concluded

more than 90 percent and believe Kampala will deal with the most critical

issues," said Julius Onen, deputy secretary general of the EAC in charge of

projects and programs.

Negotiators from Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania are now

finalizing with the outstanding issues in the ninth round of talks, including

trading of services, free movement of people and acquisition of land.

According to documents prepared for the five-day negotiations, issues of

different land ownership system and the common ID card adoption remain to be

solved among member states.

Land is owned by the government in Tanzania while it could be property of

individuals in Uganda. Four countries opt for national ID cards as travel

documents, unlike Tanzania, which prefers national or the East African passport.

Onen said an EAC summit set for April 29 is to endorse the final protocol

which will then come into force on Jan. 1, 2010.

The formation of a common market will pave way for a monetary union and

finally a political federation. EAC has already adopted a customs union.