DRAFT EAST AFRICAN MONETARY UNION PROTOCOL READY FOR THE SIGNING BY THE EAC HEADS OF STATE ON 30TH NOVEMBER 2013

The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure Dr. Enos Bukuku (pictured) has affirmed that the 15^th Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs met on 15 November, 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania and cleared the legal content of the draft Protocol for the Establishment of the East African Monetary Union (EAMU) paving the way for its signing by the EAC Heads of State Summit on 30 November 2013.

 The Sectoral Council recommended the draft Protocol for adoption since it met the requirements of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community and recommended to the Council of Ministers to recommend to the Summit to approve and sign the Protocol on 30 November 2013. 

The Attorneys General, Solicitors General as well as Ministers responsible for Justice and Constitutional Affairs who constitute the Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs among others directed the Secretariat to make a compilation of all documentation used in the negotiations of the draft Protocol to be used as working documents in drafting the legal instrument establishing the institutions to support the Monetary Union.

 Reacting to media reports alleging that some Partner States were differing over Articles in the draft Protocol ahead of its signing, the Deputy Secretary General said there were no disagreement to warrant postponement or any delay in the signing of the Protocol.

 He said the Sectoral Council decided that the various Articles that were operational in nature be used in the enabling laws that will establish the various institutions that will guide the Monetary Union such as the East African Central Bank (EACB).

 “This guidance is consistent with established practice and has always been followed in other EAC Protocols. After signature of the EAMU Protocol by the EAC Heads of State, the next two years will see passage of Bills to establish the four institutions to support Monetary Union” noted Dr. Bukuku. 

“As the public may wish to recall, the procedure for concluding legal texts in the EAC among others includes adoption of the policy document by the Council of Ministers which refers it to the Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial affairs for legal input.  This is in line with the practice in the Partner States, whereby policy documents are considered by the Attorneys General for legal input,” affirmed the EAC official.

 By way of improving the text of the draft Protocol, the Sectoral Council, has re-arranged the logical flow of the draft EAMU Protocol and eliminated repetitions in order to have a more concise legal text.  “This is probably where some observers not very well versed in drafting end up wondering as to how come 77 Articles were collapsed into 32 Articles in the draft EAMU Protocol okayed by the Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs.

 Introduction of single currency has been made clearer in the final version and now spells out how Partner States will join the last stage of the EAMU which is the single currency and that the East African currency will be the legal tender in the single currency area.

“This means that national currencies will not be used alongside the East African currency in the single currency area. Indeed, there cannot be two legal tenders in one single currency area. The provisions on how the single currency shall start have not been changed from what was contained in the policy document as it had been stated in the policy, that the Summit of the EAC Heads of State would announce the dates for the start of the single currency” Dr. Bukuku concluded.