“…this is a good Bill because it has good intentions to raise the well-being of local farmers.”
Tanzanians recently meeting to discuss The East African Community (EAC) Cooperative Societies Bill, 2014, in a public hearing in the country’s business capital, Dar es Salaam, endorsed the bill unanimously.
If passed by the East African Legislation Assembly in Arusha to become a regional co-operatives law, the bill will enhance East Africa’s regional integration, Dr. Abdullah Makame, the Acting Director of Trade, Investments and Productive Sectors in the Tanzania Ministry of East African Co-operation said when officially opening the public hearing.
One of reasons why the regional law should perform well when in place is that the existing East African Community has been put in place by the people themselves, which differs from the first EAC which was put in place by leaders, Dr. Makame said: “People give their views. It is an all-inclusive community.”
The Research and Marketing Officer from the Tanzania Federation of Co-operatives, Ahadiel Mmbughu, said at the meeting, however, that stakeholders in the country have asked that eight additional proposals be incorporated into the Bill before it becomes law.
The proposed additions include a suggestion that the East African Co-opetative Society abides by the seven International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) accepted principals, that the Bill should have a provision to allow formation of an East African Co-operative Society from grass-roots to the apex which is the Federal Society.
Tanzanian Stakeholders who met in Dodoma, central Tanzania in June, 2014, also suggested that the Bill incorporates a permit to form an East African Co-operative Agency–an agency whose duty would include the following:
To mobilize resources for the co-operatives from different economic blocks, to advocate and to lobby for policy changes, to set and maintain quality standard to products and services offered by co-operatives and to search for markets-nationally, regionally and internationally.
The public hearing in Dar es Salaam was part of a marathon journey by the East Africa Legislation Assembly (EALA) committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources headed by the Burundian member or the Assembly, Isabelle Ndahayo, to collect public views and inputs from EAC member states on the proposed Bill. The Bill was moved in the EALA by the Ugandan member of Assembly Mike K. Sebalu.
Illustrative Graphic with Mike K. Sebalu.on Right.
In opening remarks, the Committee Chairperson said all member countries of the EAC had Co-oprtative laws, but they were all different. “This cannot help us to develop,” Ndahayo said. “We need to harmonize the different laws. This legal framework is necessary to promote co-operatives in our countries.”
In his presentation, Sebalu said the Bill seeks to build synergies from partner States, adding that the private sector was given an upper hand for regional economic development. “The private sector is critical if we are to move forward,” he said. “Unemployment will be reduced.”
The law maker asked Tanzanians in attendance to pitch their best into the Bill because the EALA wishes to make a good law. “The only payment we want for our work is the presentation of a good law,” Sebalu said.
The committee arrived in Dar es salaam from Kigali, Rwanda, and was expected to leave the next morning for a similar session in Kampala Uganda. The views were being collected from all EAC member States which include Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.
Ndahayo said it was hoped that this exercise would be complete by Monday of next week when views from all member states of the EAC will have been collected and a final report compiled.
“The trips from one capital to another have been very physically exhausting,” said Stephen Muchiri, Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF),also a member of the team collecting views. The EAFF has observer status in the East African Legislative Assembly. “You finish one meeting, and before you know it, its time to board the plane again. It’s very tiring,” Muchiri said.
The EAFF Chief Executive said when turned into law, this Bill is set to serve the following purposed: It will harmonize national co-operative laws so that they are in line with the EAC regional integration process, it will result in the strengthening co-operatives through the sharing of best practice approaches, and the strengthening of co-operatives through ensuring that they run independently and professionally under a supportive policy environment.
The law will also provide opportunities for joint ventures through pooling resources, participating in regional and international business opportunities across different sectors and sub-sectors, Muchiri said, adding that the Bill enhances good neighbourliness and regional security as well as improving regional food security.
A young Tanzanian attending the public hearing, 26-year old Teodos Komba said “this is a good Bill because it has good intentions to raise the wellbeing of local farmers.”
