Uganda races to meet Monetary Union date
Saturday December 20 2014
Uganda’s ratification will pave the way for the implementation of the EAMU Protocol. TEA Graphic
After months of dilly-dallying with the East African Monetary Union (EAMU) Protocol, the Uganda parliament finally ratified it on December 16.
Minister of State for East African Community Affairs, Shem Bageine said the government will meet the revised deadline of December 31. He said only the Foreign Affairs Minister’s signature was being awaited for Uganda to deposit the instruments of ratification with the EAC Secretary-General.
Although the Ministry of Finance submitted the motion in September, it came up on the Order Paper on December 8 and MPs passed it amid “ambush” claims.
READ: Uganda the odd man out as Kenya ratifies monetary union
Remegio Achia, deputy chairperson of the Budget Committee, expressed parliament’s concern at Uganda being part of the EAMU. But MPs agreed that the concerns will be dealt with during implementation.
“Although we have in principle agreed and passed it, we shall scrutinise the convergence criteria when implementation of the monetary union starts,” Mr Achia said.
Uganda was the last to ratify the protocol, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania having already deposited the instruments of ratification with the East African Community Secretariat in Arusha.
Uganda’s ratification will pave the way for the implementation of the EAMU Protocol. Mr Bageine said ratification by all partner states means the region can finally start the process to establish the East African Monetary Institute. This will be the first institution established by the protocol.
According to the schedule for the realisation of EAMU, the region should next year establish a monetary institute and create an institution responsible for surveillance, compliance and enforcement by 2018. Other institutions to be up and running by 2018 include one in charge of collecting statistics and another responsible for financial services.
The EAC will co-ordinate and harmonise fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies by 2018 as a way to transit into a monetary union. The Heads of State Summit signed the Protocol establishing the EAMU in November last year.