East Africa

The fact that Kenya maintains an unhealthy trade balance with the UK where the UK imports into Kenya far outmuscle Kenya’s exports to the UK is a major concern on elimination of customs on UK imports and implementation of the agreement. It is surprising, however, that the impact of the agreement on the East African Community remains largely undebated unlike the preceding Kenya -USA Free Trade Agreement that has been critically examined against the EAC’s Customs Union Protocol and the Common Market Protocol. It is time that the stakeholders in the EAC integration process highlighted the imminent dangers posed by the Kenya-UK EPA on the EAC integration.

In this issue, we would like to inform you about the decision by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau to enforce the statutory fine on companies for late filing of annual returns.

The EACJ has thus ruled that the respondent is prohibited from implementing the impugned decision or in any way disposing of the applicant’s interest in the subject property, pending the hearing and determination of the application inter parte.

Since 2010, the five partner states, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania have aimed at having the EAC as a single customs union. The scope of co-operation is as provided in Article 5 of the Protocol to apply to any activity undertaken in co-operation by the Partner States, to achieve the free movement of goods, persons, labour, services and capital and to ensure the enjoyment of the rights of establishment and residence of their nationals within the Community.