Peace and security always come first

In endorsing the creation of a standby force to secure the region from conflict, terror and piracy, the first ever East African Community Peace and Security Conference has taken not just a bold step but one that tasks member states to comply fully.

Indeed, the ordinary East African is expecting that the new initiative goes beyond conference talk and delivers peace, security and stability in a region that has had more than its fair share of conflicts.

To paraphrase Rwandan President Paul Kagame, there is nothing wrong with adopting an aggressive posture, as long as it delivers desirable results.

In other words, real integration comes with the delivery of real goods to ordinary people.

Peace and security are at the top of the list of what East Africans desire, and if the standby force can deliver that, it is a step in the right direction.

Now this instrument is on the table, the leadership of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi must act decisively.

The EAC Secretariat can only do so much; implementation lies with the decision-making organs, and the Summit here is key. Over to you, your excellencies!

The Community is full of socio-economic contradictions, both at national and regional level.

Wealth and other means of production such as land are in the hands of the few.

Unemployment is a blight on our national economies.

Our politics is increasingly played out along ethnic lines.

At regional level, there are obvious disparities in the economies of the partner states. All these are recipes for conflict.

While we may have the standby force ready to move in when conflicts break out, there is a need to monitor and pay attention to these small internal contradictions that can rupture the region.

In that respect, last week’s conference may yet turn out to be the most important gathering of the EAC since its revival 10 years ago, if it helps keep the bloc stable in order to deliver on its economic mandate.