East African Heads of State will meet in Arusha on Sunday amid pressure to end the bureaucratic delays haunting the integration agenda.

The leaders are expected to consider several key issues they postponed in their last Summit in Nairobi in November — key among them admission of South Sudan to the bloc and a proposal extending the jurisdiction of the East Africa Court of Justice.

Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, Burundi’s Pierre Nkurunziza, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Tanzania’s Jakaya Kikwete are expected to make decisions on the reports brought forward by the EAC Council of Ministers on issues affecting the region.

Government officials and business executives have been decrying delays in implementing the Common Market Protocol signed in July 2010, saying they were slowing economic growth in the bloc, especially delays in removal of non-tariff barriers (NTBs), an issue the presidents will find on the table, for the umpteenth time. 

While the five partner states agreed to remove NTBs by December 2012, in the absence of a legally binding framework, action largely depending on the willingness of the different countries, more barriers continue to be erected.

A report by the Council of Ministers on their findings in the verification report on South Sudan will also be presented to the Heads of State Summit for a decision.

In a meeting held last week in Arusha ahead of the extraordinary summit, the Council of Ministers negotiated the issue of South Sudan joining the community following the completion of the verification work.

According to the Kenyan Director of Economic Affairs, Richard Sindiga, there is also a proposal to establish an EAC bureau of Speakers from the national assemblies as an advisory organ to the community with the aim of advising the Heads of State. “If the Council of Ministers agrees on this proposal then the report will be forwarded for approval,” said Mr Sindiga.

However, critics said this would complicate the functions of the Council of Ministers and the East African Legislative Assembly.

The Heads of State will also be required to make a decision on the jurisdiction of the EA Court of Justice to cover crimes against humanity.

During their 14th ordinary summit the presidents ordered that the Treaty establishing the EACJ be amended and that the Council of Ministers present the report at this Summit. The other matters to be discussed are financial and budgetary issues, the EAC protocol on immunity and privileges.

However the final report on the monetary union will again not be submitted to the Heads of Summit for approval, even though the presidents last year directed that the document be presented this time round.

The task force negotiating the monetary union reported to the Council of Ministers that they had encountered new obstacles that need to be resolved before they can finalise the process.

“The sectoral council committee will have to meet immediately after the Heads of State meeting to deliberate on these obstacles reported by the task force and come up with solutions,” said Mr Sindiga.