Odd rush to expand the East African Community

The East African Community (EAC) currently consists of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. The EAC is very roughly analogous to the European Community. One of the long term goals is the formation of the East African Federation, which would be the political union of the member states into a single sovereign country.

Sudan recently submitted a formal application to join the EAC, while Somalia, The Comoros, and the newly independent South Sudan have expressed a strong interest in joining. Tanzania has indicated that it would be in favor of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, and Zambia joining. Sudan's application was tentatively rejected at a high level meeting of EAC officials last week, ostensibly because Sudan is not geographically connected with any other EAC member.

This rush to expand the EAC is odd given its unpopularity with the Tanzanian public. All land was nationalized in 1976 by Tanzania's socialist government. While the current land ownership situation is complicated and unclear, land at least nominally remains owned by the government.  This would conflict with the EAC's goal of allowing citizens of any member state to own land in any other member state. Many believe that the true motive of Kenya (especially), Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi is grabbing Tanzanian land for its citizens, as all four have experienced great unrest because of land shortages. The 2008 violence in Kenya was at least in part caused by conflicts over land. One commentator said,

[T]he land debates are ... a reflection of residual historical animosities combined with Tanzania's weaknesses vis-à-vis its more dynamic, capitalist neighbours. Lower skill levels, including language skills, and lack of business experience pitches the Tanzanians against the better educated and better trained Kenyans. Kenyans come back from Tanzania with raised eyebrows at the slow pace in its post-socialist neighbour, and they are typically perceived as a threat. In some sense, quite rightly so, argues David Robertson, who represents the East Africa Association, a business association of foreign investors, in Tanzania. He acknowledges that differences in language skills and business culture present an initial obstacle.... And, he argues, foreign investors will look for someone who fits the mould to run their company -- so most Tanzanians would not be considered, and income disparities would increase as a consequence. A vicious circle results: As Tanzanians feel left out from opportunities that foreign direct investment can create, their latent opposition to these new market entrants increases, who will then find another reason not to consider Tanzanians for managerial positions.

While Tanzania is publicly in favor of the EAC, officials of other member states privately doubt Tanzania's commitment. They believe that Tanzania has not learned from its disastrous experiment with socialism and is on the road to another economic disaster. At one point, Uganda went on record as saying that economic integration should proceed without Tanzania, leaving the latter to catch up whenever it is politically ready.

Sources:
"Tanzania: Slowing Down EAC Integration over Land Concerns?," Ratio Magazine, 15 January 2009.
"Comoros, Somalia seek EAC membership," The Daily News, 12 September 2011.
"Sudan's attempt to join EAC blocked," The Daily News, 12 September 2011.