EAC without equity will be implausible

KENYA’S media lately unleashed accusations and curses against Tanzania thanks to the sin of not complying with their demands.

One of the articles fired salvos, ire and tantrums, not to mention dirty language. It reprimanded and accused Tanzania of not consenting to free movement and land acquisition by citizens of other member countries of the East African Community.

’’Tanzania is proving to be a liability in EA integration’’, read the article.

We’d rather shrug this straitjacket off than enter a forceful marriage of convenience if need be.

Interestingly, the myopic author shamelessly said, "Tanzania greatly likes to be recognized for her ’internationalist’ policies, with her leaders spending more time strutting the world than they do in their own country, though the facts show they are quite parochial."

By the way, who’s parochial in reality? We may be. But we’ve nary butchered one another simply because we’re from different tribes. Kenya’s allegations may be right to some degree.

Under our internationalism we’re accused of made it possible for erstwhile foes President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to sit together and resolve their differences.

And Kenyans, thanks to that breakthrough, are relatively enjoying peace after butchering one another.

Again, when one sees how our leaders ’waste time globe-trotting’, one should as well have seen how his own legislators do not want to pay tax on top of amassing big chunks of land while the majority of their people suffer for lack of the same.

Also, Tanzania is blamed for not consenting to the so-called free movement. Other EAC members would like their nations to use identity cards for travel in the region in lieu of passports. They would like to abolish work permits in the region, not to mention free land acquisition.

Another thing, however weak, is that we’re afraid of Kenyan vibrant economy. Blindly and shamelessly they say: ’Tanzania is dirt poor, its economy a fraction of Kenya’s. Further, it lacks the dynamism and skills to drive its economy forward at the pace of its neighbours. Even tiny Rwanda has a better capacity than [what] can be said of Tanzania.’

What nonsense! If this is the case, then why are Kenyans hollering for not joining them? Shall integration be an in-thing, we still can join Mozambique or even Zambia.

They erroneously aver that we are giving the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) too much. So be it, if it protects and safeguards our interests. ’Tanzania’s generally confused posture comes out in its obsession to belong to the SADC,’’ they add.

Let me tell our integration tutors one thing. They’re the ones who introduced the East African passport. This consumed a lot of money in printing and designing not to mention purchasing them.

We challenge Kenyan authorities to harmonize their land policies and equally re-distribute land to the landless majority -- our landless brethren and sisters in Kenya.

It is an open secret that almost all fertile land is in the hands of a few foreigners or rulers who grabbed it from the wananchi.

Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda would like to see ’East Africans’ acquire land in any state they deem fit. But again, apart from Tanzania, which country still has land for such purpose?

We know, in Kenya much of fertile land is owned by a few select in power or that used to be in power. In a word, Kenya has a very nasty land policy that for long has left the ordinary people landless and sidelined.

For instance, the family of the country's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, owns a chunk of land the size of Nyanza Province.

Similarly, that of his successor, Daniel arap Moi and Kibaki’s also own big parcels of land not to mention former British settlers. In May 2006 Cholmondeley, grandson of Lord Delamere, shot dead an innocent Kenyan for trespass on his Soysambu farm.

In other words, Kenyan rulers, even Rwandans, are looking for free land to offer to their man-made landless majority. Before we do so, let greedy rulers re-distribute the parcels they are holding without even putting them to use.

Another point is, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have big populations compared to the size of their land. So, instead of planning and controlling their population, they’d like to dump that burden to Tanzania!

True, if Tanzania consented to this ploy, the future of its coming generations would be doomed. Look at this reality in numbers. Burundi is 27,830 sq km with a population of 8,691,005 or
315 people concentrated in a square kilometre.

Rwanda is 26,338 sq km with a population of 8.3 million that is set to double to 16 million by 2020. Its population density is the highest in Africa and has risen from 183 per sq km in 1981 to 345 per sq km in 2000.

Rwanda’s rural population per square kilometre of arable land was around 901 in 1999 -- one of the highest in Africa.

Kenya is 582,650 sq km with a population of over 30 million. Density is 2 settlers per sq. km, while in the rich and fertile western region, population density goes up to 120 settlers per sq. km.

Uganda is 241,139 sq km with a population of at least 27.7 million and a density of 241 per sq km in 1999. Its population is projected to explode to approximately 66,305,000 by 2050.

Tanzania is 945,100 sq km and, according to the United Nations, had an estimated population of 36,977,000 in 2003. The population density was then 39 per sq km.

Demographic realities are not something to ignore. Even the superpower and richest country of the world, the US, is currently erecting a 3,200 kilometre fence on its border with Mexico to curb illegal immigrants. But Mexico like Kenya does not see this.

Another killer point, Tanzania still remembers the loss suffered from the 1977 debacle of the first East African Community as a result of megalomaniac rule in Kenya and Uganda.

History is a good judge. Shortly before attaining independence in 1961, Tanzania wanted to delay its autonomy until all colonies in East Africa were ready for the same status. What exemplary pan-African love and spirit!

We better go or remain solo than being shuffled and bussed in a bandwagon for our peril.
Thisday December 3, 2008.
Also was reproduced in The African Executive Magazine-Kenya and The Monitor-Uganda.