YAKOBE CHIWAMBO

YESTERDAY, the regional Common Market finally opened its doors for business among the five member states of the EA Community yesterday: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. But, perhaps not unexpected, it has not opened the doors as widely as the liberally-inclined among its members would have liked.

In its broadest sense, a 'common market' implies an economic association of states into a single trading market with little or no restriction of internal movement of individuals, capital, goods, and services – and with a united trading policy towards non-members.

In the light of the foregoing, when it comes to brass tacks, it will be found that each of the five members of the EAC – the cradle of the Common Market – has opened up to the concept only in the areas that it was comfortable with to 'let go!'

Speaking to local editors and other journalists during a seminar at the  Kunduchi Beach Hotel in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, the Tanzania minister for East African Cooperation, Dr. Diodorus Kamala, said ''each country has opened up a number of sectors, not all. This is because not any one of the countries is obliged to (open up everything)... Decisions on whether to open what area and when are arrived at through consensus.''

In that regard, more areas would be opened up as time goes by, since regional integration is a gradual process.

As already noted several weeks ago, Minister Kamala – who is also current chairman of the EAC Council of Ministers – stressed the areas that Tanzania has opened up to the rest of the EAC member states as including teaching in private sector higher-learning institutions for PhD holders, effective on July 1, 2010.

Also, teachers of an approved foreign language in primary schools who must be holders of a first degree awarded by a fully-accredited University.

Other opened-up areas (with the respective operative time shown in brackets) are health personnel (year-2010); Engineers and Agricultural experts (2011), and secondary school teachers for Maths, Physics and Chemistry (Year-2015).

"However, it must be made clear that the gates are open only on Tanzania Mainland. Zanzibar is still doing evaluations on whether to open up its education sector to the rest of the EAC members states. This is quite normal, since countries are allowed to do that. If a country has enough human resources – as Zanzibar says it has – why should it open up?" Kamala states.

According to Kamala, neighbouring Kenya and Uganda have opened up a number of their sectors under the Common Market concept. Among these are administrative, managerial and other positions that need experts.

Burundi and Rwanda reportedly have serious human resources shortage and have, consequently, opened up in many more areas.

Commenting on this, Kamala said that, although a number of jobs have been opened up across East Africa, this does not mean that nationals of one country can just hightail it to another East African country seeking to be employed without following certain requisite procedures.

"When coming to Tanzania, the envisaged Common Market notwithstanding, a person will still have to have a valid passport. In fact, if you are coming for a job, you are supposed to have a letter of your appointment or contract that you must show at the entry point into the country," the minister said.

In due course of time, the minister said, guest workers are supposed to obtain working permits as Tanzania's labour laws stipulate.

Commenting on the issue of citizens of one nation taking up permanent residence in another East African nation, Dr. Kamala said this is not just possible, since each country will want to uphold its own laws.

"Each country has its on laws, if one wants permanent citizenship in another country, then the current laws will be invoked. Coming to Tanzania for work does not grantee permanent citizenship," Kamala stressed.

Land ownership is not part of the Common Market Protocol although investors from within the Community bloc will be helped to get land for investment.

All in all, the minister called upon East Africans to access correct and full information before they decide to move from their home country to another within the EAC in order to avoid breaking laws in the name of the Common Market.