A section of residents from the North Eastern are now calling for a borderless East Africa Community (EAC) in order to promote trade between countries in the region.
Speaking during a public participation forum on the proposed political confederation of EAC held at a Garissa hotel Hassan Noor, a resident of Garissa, asked the committee to prioritise a borderless region that would ensure goods and services in the region move freely.
‘I want a free region so that I can move freely in the region. We should promote resource sharing so that cases of conflicts are minimised in the region,’ Noor said.
‘There is huge potential in the region for trade to thrive if we come up with a borderless region. This will also see a strong regional economic block that does not depend on aid from the East or western countries,’ he added.
Justice Dr Benjamin Odoki, retired Chief Justice of Uganda and the chairman to the committee of experts appointed at the EAC summit to draft the constitution for the proposed political confederation of EAC said the journey to strengthen the political authority is on course.
Dr Odoki said that much has been covered in the quest to come up with a draft of an EAC constitution.
‘We shall be visiting all the 47 counties collecting the people’s views that we shall use to draft the constitution,’ he said.
The retired chief justice said that his team of experts will come up with a draft confederal constitution that will lead to a transition to a federation.
On her part Ms. Fatuma Yusuf from Wajir urged the committee to ensure there is inclusivity in the regional governance system.
‘I want sign language to be included among the recognized languages in the EAC so that people living with disabilities can feel being part of the EAC population,’ Fatuma said.
Source: Kenya News Agency