Kenya Cabinet Secretary for East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development Rebecca Miano says a larger East African Community represents an opportunity for the region as long as members are ready to face the attendant challenges .
Miano says the current jitters around the EAC expansion are misplaced.
“The bigger the pie, the more people will participate. If you look at the African Union, the original dream of regional integration is to have a united Africa. Admitting more members to the East African Community is the right thing to do,” he told The EastAfrican in an interview on Thursday.
Miano spoke as the EAC began assessing Somalia’s eligibility to join the bloc. She did not want to talk about Mogadishu in particular to avoid influencing advisers, but said the overall outlook for the bloc is to grow and become bigger.
Ripe of old troubles
“Lessons from partner states that have been there before should lead the way. We must mature from old problems or disputes. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the pioneers, should resolve their outstanding issues to pave the way for newcomers,” he said. “We believe this will make it attractive to new member states. We must leave old problems behind, improve communication and take advantage of technology.”
Miano, a lawyer, was not originally expected to lead regional integration, as she worked in the corporate world and ran the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen). However, even energy production and regional issues have some links, she has learned.
“I am very familiar with the power grids in East Africa,” she said.
“I will support any policy that enhances common power in the region. Development will not come to our region if we do not harmonize our energy policies. An integrated power group can prevent load shedding in one country, for example, when the next one has excess power. In fact, this applies to all sectors. We are currently facing the worst drought in 40 years, while some of our neighbors don’t have that problem. We should share this data to avoid shortages.”
