Opinion| New East African Community and Implications for South Sudan

Evolution of East African Community

There are eight recognized Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa[1], which are serving as building blocks of the African Union. One such REC is the East African Community (EAC)[2], a regional inter-governmental organization comprising eight East African countries, aimed at fostering economic, political, and social integration. The EAC is anchored on four pillars, namely, custom union, common market, monetary union, and finally political federation.

For good purposes of records, the EAC was founded in 1967[3] by three founding member states, Kenya, Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania, with the founding aim to foster economic cooperation and integration among the three East African countries. Unfortunately, the organization collapsed in 1977 due to a combination of political, economic, and social factors. In June 1977, member states failed to agree on contributions to the General Fund Service , with Kenya announcing withdrawal, and by July 1977, the EAC ceased operation.

After twenty-two years of dissolution and non-existence of the organization, it was again revived in 1999 with the development of a new treaty establishing the second birth of the EAC with more or less the same objectives[4]. But most importantly, the quorum for meetings and decisions of the EAC organs and institutions was made flexible to be by consensus. The statutory contribution was divided equally amongst all partner states regardless of economic status.

On 14 March 2014, His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit formed a high-level committee to negotiate the accession of the Republic of South Sudan into the EAC[5]. I was therefore privileged as part of the committee representing civil society in such a noble duty. After two and a half years of arduous negotiations under the able leadership of Hon. Aggrey Tisa Sabuni, we successfully delivered our mandate with South Sudan as a full member of the EAC through ratification of the treaty and depositing of the instrument with the Secretary General on 15 April 2016[6]. South Sudan was the sixth partner state before the admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Federal Republic of Somalia, respectively.

As a requirement for integration into the EAC, the Republic of South Sudan has so far developed a number of instruments for integration into the EAC organs and institutions. Chief amongst them is the roadmap for implementation of EAC decisions, the EAC Treaty Bill, and finally awaiting consultation for EAC constitutional federation, among others.

Diplomatic Rhetoric to Practical Actions

Following the 25th Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State, held on 7th March 2026 in Arusha, Tanzania, the leaders decided to break silence on the question of defaulting partner states, as the accumulated arrears had reached 89 million United States dollars, with the exception of Kenya and Tanzania, with zero balance[7]. The Democratic Republic of Congo has arrears of 27 million USD, Burundi with 22.7 million USD, South Sudan with 21.8 million USD, the Federal Republic of Somalia with 10.5 million USD, and Uganda with 1.1 million USD, respectively[8].

The intra-EAC trade remains at 15 percent of total trade, falling short of the 50 percent goal, despite positive and rapid growth in absolute value to 4.8 billion USD in 2025. This brings in the question of what went wrong in the fulfillment of the fundamental objectives of the EAC. The big elephant in the room remains the question of money and failure by partner states to honor their financial obligations and fast-track implementation of decisions of the EAC organs and institutions. Such inaction by partner states has rendered EAC organs and institutions to a standstill in operations and progressively to near second collapse of the EAC. With these daunting challenges, the 25th Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State made a significant shift from usual diplomatic rhetoric to practical economic solutions in terms of actionable directives.

Accordingly, the summit made the following decisions: set 30th June 2026 as the deadline for the removal of all non-tariff barriers; decide that the quorum for meetings of all organs and institutions of the EAC shall be two thirds of all partner states; decide that the nomination of the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, Judge President of the East African Court of Justice, Secretary General, and Deputy Secretaries General of the EAC shall be in accordance with article 8 of the treaty, provided that such partner state has ratified all legal instruments of the EAC, must have domesticated the EAC Treaty Bill, and must have achieved full implementation of the roadmap for integration into the EAC organs and institutions.

The summit equally decided that members of EALA shall be paid by the respective national assemblies of the partner state with effect from December 2027; decided a new financing mechanism that all partner states pay 50% of the annual statutory equal contribution while 50% shall be paid on assessed contribution; decided to waive off 50% of all arrears due to all partner states due to prevailing circumstances, on condition that the remaining 50% be paid within two years effective from 7 March 2026; and finally directed the Council of Ministers to work out the schedule of sanctions to defaulting partner states and report to the 26th Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State[9].

Implications for South Sudan

The Republic of South Sudan, since joining the EAC ten years ago, has made very limited progress in the integration agenda for many reasons: First, there was no funding availed to the Ministry of East African Community Affairs to do awareness raising on the importance of such a multilateral institution and its benefits to the government and people of South Sudan. This has remained a challenge to date, as many of the public and private sector institutions do not know the vertical and horizontal roles and responsibilities in the EAC organs and institutions.

Despite South Sudan’s very ambitious roadmap for integration into the EAC, relevant institutions of government have not implemented the integration processes from policy alignment to coordination mechanisms. Above all, South Sudan has not domesticated the EAC Treaty Bill to take legal effect as part of the legal framework of the land. This has affected the jurisdictional precedence of the EAC Custom Union and Common Market Protocol on South Sudan in line with Article 126 (2) (b) of the EAC Treaty, which provides that “Partner States shall through their appropriate national institutions take all necessary steps to harmonize all their national laws appertaining to the Community[10].” Equally, South Sudan has partially implemented the common market protocol only on the waiving of the visa regime within EAC partner states while other non-tariff barriers remain in action.

The second and the last biggest challenge is the absolute lack of political will from the government to prioritize timely allocation of financial resources to honor treaty obligations. South Sudan is now standing as the third biggest defaulter in the EAC partner state. However, the government has primary legal obligations both under the national laws as well as regional and international legal instruments, treaties, and conventions to which South Sudan is a state party. Article 9 (3) of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011 as amended provides that “All rights and freedoms enshrined in international human rights treaties, covenants, and instruments ratified or acceded to by the Republic of South Sudan shall be an integral part of the Bill of Rights[11].” The Custom Union and Common Market Protocols of the EAC are regional instruments that have been ratified and carry a number of human rights and freedoms that the government and people of South Sudan must honor and implement accordingly.

Equally important, article 43 (a) of the Transitional Constitution is in line with South Sudan’s treaty obligations as one key principle of good governance that “the foreign policy of the Republic of South Sudan shall serve the national interest and shall be conducted independently and transparently with the view to achieving, amongst others, the promotion of international cooperation, especially within the United Nations family, the African Union, and other international and regional organizations, for the purposes of consolidating universal peace and security, respect for international law, treaty obligations, and fostering a just world economic order[12].” This is a very clear moral and legal obligation for South Sudan as a member of such a regional, continental, and global community of nations to honor treaty obligations, including timely payment of member contributions and implementation of agreed decisions.

Recommendations

After having seen the manner in which the 25th Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State is conducted, including the unilateral rejection of representatives of the presidents to attend close sessions where discussions and decisions were made, the message is clear that it is no longer business as usual. The founding partner states were not ready to afford the second collapse of the EAC at their watch, which will have negative bearing on their economies. Accordingly, the radical shift of decisions to amend the treaty in many unprecedented ways, as seen in the communiqué, speaks volumes for South Sudan and other partner states.

The choice is one and simple. If South Sudan wants to remain in the EAC, the government must honor treaty obligations and issue two clear standing directives, one on an uninterrupted source of funding for the EAC budget and another on fast-tracking South Sudan integration into EAC through laws and policies’ alignments with the EAC organs and institutions, including but not limited to immediate removal of all non-tariff barriers to trade facilitation before 30 June 2026, domestication of the EAC Treaty Bill, and finalize consultation on constitutional federation, among others.

The writer, Adv. Beny Gideon Mabor, is a private attorney and a former undersecretary in the Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Government of South Sudan. His areas of research focus on politics, governance, and social accountability. He can be reach via: benygmabor@gmail.com

The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.

References

1. Marie Daniel: (16 August 2021). Regional Economic Communities in Africa | AfCFTA
2. East African Community. www.eac.int/overview-of-eac
3. Ibid
4. EAC – East African Community | United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
5. EAC resumes negotiation to allow South Sudan into economic bloc. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/eac-resumes-negotiations-to-allow-south-sudan-into-economic-bloc-1326236
6. 16 April 2016: Communiqué: Signing Ceremony of The Treaty of Accession of The Republic of South Sudan into the East African Community. https://www.eac.int/statements/423-611-138-communique-signing-ceremony-of-the-treaty-of-accession-of-the-republic-of-south-sudan-into-the-east-african-community
7. [1] 7^th March 2026 (Arusha): COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE 25TH ORDINARY SUMMIT OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY HEADS OF STATE. https://www.eac.int/communique/3476-communiqu%C3%A9-of-the-25th-ordinary-summit-of-the-east-african-community-heads-of-state
8. Luke Anami (EAC’s new normal: Reforms at the regional bloc in Museveni tenure. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business-tech/eacs-new-normal-reforms-regional-bloc-in-museveni-tenure-5390880
9. Ibid
10. Article 126 (2) (b) of the EAC Treaty
11. Article 9 (3) of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011
12. Article 43 (a) of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011 as amended

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[1] Marie Daniel: (16 August 2021). Regional Economic Communities in Africa | AfCFTA

[2] East African Community. www.eac.int/overview-of-eac

[3] ibid

[4] EAC – East African Community | United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

[5] EAC resumes negotiation to allow South Sudan into economic bloc. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/eac-resumes-negotiations-to-allow-south-sudan-into-economic-bloc-1326236

[6] 16 April 2016: Communiqué: Signing Ceremony of The Treaty of Accession of The Republic of South Sudan into the East African Community. https://www.eac.int/statements/423-611-138-communique-signing-ceremony-of-the-treaty-of-accession-of-the-republic-of-south-sudan-into-the-east-african-community

[7] 7^th March 2026 (Arusha): COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE 25TH ORDINARY SUMMIT OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY HEADS OF STATE. https://www.eac.int/communique/3476-communiqu%C3%A9-of-the-25th-ordinary-summit-of-the-east-african-community-heads-of-state

[8] Luke Anami (EAC’s new normal: Reforms at the regional bloc in Museveni tenure. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business-tech/eacs-new-normal-reforms-regional-bloc-in-museveni-tenure-5390880

[9] Ibid

[10] Article 126 (2) (b) of the EAC Treaty

[11] Article 9 (3) of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011

[12] Article 43 (a) of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011 as amended