Somalia Becomes the Eighth Member of the EAC - Back to the Roots?...
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The time has come! On 24 November 2023, the heads of state and
government of the East African Community (EAC) approved Somalia’s
accession. Thus, Somalia will become the eighth member of the Economic
Community, with a population of around 300 million. Somalia’s membership
was already in the offing in June of this year.[1] The EAC is now one of the
largest regional alliances in Africa and the world, laying the foundations not
only for a conflict-free future but also for realising Africa’s enormous economic
potential for the benefit of its inhabitants.
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Somalia Becomes the Eighth Member of the EAC - Back to the Roots?...
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For Somalia, this is another milestone in its post-war development. In addition
to lifting the arms embargo by the UN Security Council on 1 December
2023[2], the International Monetary Fund decided on 1 November to grant the
country an extended credit line of USD 100 million.[3] The funds are not only
urgently needed support for the reconstruction of the country and in the fight
against terror, but also, in the words of the IMF, confirmation that “Somalia has
maintained strong implementation of wide-ranging reforms to help strengthen
key economic and financial policy institutions, which is paving the way for
Somalia to reach debt relief at the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Completion Point in December 2023.” This means that Somalia is on track to
meet the HIPC requirements, which means that international lenders such as
the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the IMF, the Inter-American
Development Bank and all Paris Club countries will once again classify the
country as creditworthy and interest-free loans will be available in some cases.
This positive development shows that the path of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s
presidency is recognised and supported by international partners. However, it
also shows that a great deal is happening within the country. In addition to the
travel diplomacy to neighbouring countries right at the beginning of his
presidency last year and the alliance he forged against Al Shabab, these are
important and perhaps even somewhat surprising successes for a country that
was on the brink of violent political conflict until the presidential election in
May 2022.
In particular, regional integration and cooperation through the country’s
accession to the EAC will benefit Somalia economically. Although the World
Bank recently downgraded its growth forecast from 3.6 % to 2.8 %[4], this
should only be a small dent in economic development. For years now,
Mogadishu, in particular, has been experiencing a rapidly growing economic
upturn, a considerable increase in construction activity and the establishment
of all kinds of companies. Therefore, the economic advantages that Somalia
brings to the EAC outweigh the disadvantages. These include a coastline of
around 3,000 miles, abundant fish, a large livestock industry, agricultural
potential, and suspected further raw material reserves currently being
explored. The country also has great tourism potential and opportunities in the
environmental sector. In addition, with its very young and increasingly welleducated population, the country is home to a digitalised, tech-savvy and
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progressive generation of young businesspeople. Somalia is, therefore, not
coming to the EAC as a supplicant but as a nation that will further strengthen
the Community. Therefore, the international Community, the EU, and solid
bilateral partners such as Germany should continue to support this path.
This support will continue to be necessary for the foreseeable future. Even
though there are positive signs, there are also many uncertainty factors –
irrespective of the fight against terrorism. First and foremost is the faltering
constitutional reform. Numerous committees were appointed last year, and
important representatives from politics and society were tasked with reviewing
the constitution. Since then, however, the work seems to be taking place
behind closed doors at best. This does not do justice to the formulated claim
of a genuine Somalisation of the Constitution. Rarely in recent years has the
time been better than at present for a social discourse on the way forward. It is
about the democratic foundations, such as the right to vote (one person, one
vote), but also the organisation of the legal system and federalism. The Federal
Government must also ask itself how it intends to secure future parliamentary
participation in the EAC. In any case, the provisional constitution 2012 does
not contain an opening clause, as in Germany, for example, with Article 23 of
the Basic Law. The development of the federal states is also a factor of
uncertainty. There is considerable tension not only in central and southern
Somalia, where the prescribed legislative periods have been extended, but also
in Puntland, the former anchor of stability, due to the current presidency’s
desire to extend the election period.[5] Relations with Somaliland and its
separatist part Khatumo are equally tense. The status of the capital, Mogadishu
(Banadir), remains unresolved and harbours political and economic risks. This is
because the flourishing economy in Banadir accounts for a significant
proportion of the entire country’s tax revenue, particularly as far as the federal
government is concerned. Therefore, a political conflict over future status can
quickly become a fiscal and economic crisis for the federal government.
These are not unusual problems but rather the difficulties that must always be
expected in Somalia or issues that have needed clarification for years. Taken
together, however, they can lead to coalitions emerging in the slipstream of
the fight against terror, regional and international efforts and the country’s
stabilisation, which hope to gain better political or economic conditions for
themselves from a country in crisis mode. The presidency would, therefore, be
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well advised to place its political focus more strongly on domestic policy in the
coming year. This also applies in particular to the period following a successful
military campaign against Al Shabab. This is because immediately after
liberation from the hostage of terror, expectations of a better future are
quickly linked to the gain in prosperity and the functioning of statehood.
The geopolitical challenges also hover above these internal Somali,
predominantly political tensions. For example, Somalia is severely affected by
the global energy and food crisis. In recent months, food and energy prices
have risen so sharply that they seriously threaten economic recovery. Somalia
is also affected by climate change more than almost any other country. Even
though there has recently been hefty rainfall in the country, the drought that
has lasted for years has caused enormous damage and has also made entire
areas uninhabitable for a long time.
Moreover, despite this, the path of regional cooperation will change the
country and come very close to the Somalis’ lifestyle. This is because the
contractual structure of the EAC only looks like a European import at first
glance. Borderless regional integration is a typically African characteristic.
Trade links via the East to North and West Africa have existed for a long time.
The Incense Route connected the Horn of Africa with ancient Egypt and even
partly with Europe around 3,000 BC. Before colonisation, there was freedom of
movement across large parts of Africa and free trade in goods and services.
This large trading area, therefore, attracted traders from all parts of the world
very early on. The coasts of Somalia, in particular, have been hubs of East-West
trade for many centuries. There was a single internal market long before the
current development, and this was only eliminated by the colonial demarcation
of borders. It was not only the trade, i.e. the possibility of transporting goods
from one place to another, but also the law that was standardised. Particularly
with the expansion of Islam from the 8th century onwards, the rulers’
commitment to Islam also had an economic component. Traders could,
therefore, rely on transactions being carried out in accordance with
standardised Islamic law.
The EAC is, therefore – somewhat romantically speaking – a return to the
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traditional lifestyle in the region. This return is now realised through the law,
i.e., by cooperating with nation-states. Law thus becomes an essential
instrument for controlling the (re)integration process. In this respect, the EAC
treaties and their legal acts have a unique role. Depending on the claim to the
validity of Community law, there are complex interactions between national
law and the legal acts of the Community. As already mentioned, in the case of
Somalia, the question arises as to how participation in this Community is to be
secured in parliamentary terms. This is because it is not only about Community
policies but also about the control of participation itself. Like the European
Union (EU), the member states of the EAC are committed to comprehensive
cooperation. With the Summit, the Council, the Secretariat, the East African
Legislative Assembly and the East African Court of Justice, there is an organ
structure very similar to that of the EU. Article 16 of the EAC-treaty[6] names
regulations, directives and decisions as regulatory instruments, which also
correspond to the terms regulation, directive and decisions of the European
treaties. These will trigger direct implementation and application obligations in
Somalia, which can be invoked directly by business people and private
individuals in the EAC member states.
The integration process of the EAC functions as a step-by-step model.
Economic integration is to be followed by a political community. The stages
are set out accordingly in the treaty. Art. 75 creates the customs union, which
came into force in 2005; Art. 76 establishes the union of the common market,
which came into force in 2010; and Art. 83 describes the harmonisation of
financial and monetary policy with the aim of a common currency, which came
into force at the end of 2015. Since 2017, the goal of a political federation has
also been formulated by the EAC. However, Somalia can not climb these steps
step by step. The logic of the treaties states that Somalia is entering the acquis
that has already been achieved. Somalia is, therefore, entering directly into a
single market with a customs union and a harmonised financial and monetary
policy with all rights and obligations, even if specific transitional periods are
necessary.
The great success of accession is, therefore, followed by homework that
Somalia must complete in the coming years. The fundamental prerequisite is
that the federal states and the federal parliament (House of Peoples) are
involved. In addition to political participation, however, an implementation
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strategy for the substantive law of the EAC is also required. For example, the
question arises about how private disputes can be resolved when there is
hardly any court structure or enforcement law in Somalia.
Ultimately, however, Somalia is on an excellent path. The political integration
efforts of the current presidency have done the country much good. The
successes in the fight against Al Shabab are noticeable everywhere, and the
path of regional cooperation will also keep Somalia on the road to success in
the long term. If the presidency tackles the domestic challenges with the same
vigour, Somalia is on the threshold of becoming an essential key state in the
region. It would undoubtedly be desirable for the battered country.
[1] <https://africanlegalstudies.blog/2023/07/28/change-through-tradeeast-african-community-starts-accession-negotiations-with-somalia/ <
https://africanlegalstudies.blog/2023/07/28/change-through-trade-eastafrican-community-starts-accession-negotiations-with-somalia/> >
accessed 8 December 2023.
[2] <https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N23/380/13
/PDF/N2338013.pdf?OpenElement < https://documents-dds-ny.un.org
/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N23/380/13/PDF/N2338013.pdf?OpenElement> >
accessed 8 December 2023.
[3] <https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/11/01/pr23372somalia-imf-reaches-sla-on-36-month-ecf-arrangement <
https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/11/01/pr23372-somaliaimf-reaches-sla-on-36-month-ecf-arrangement> > accessed 8 December
2023.
[4] <https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/world-bank-revisessomalia-s-growth-forecast-to-2-8pc-4451870 <
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/world-bank-revisessomalia-s-growth-forecast-to-2-8pc-4451870> > accessed 8 December
2023.
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[5] This currently appears to be easing slightly.
[6] <https://www.eac.int/documents/category/key-documents <
https://www.eac.int/documents/category/key-documents> > accessed 8
December 2023.
René Brosius < https://africanlegalstudies.blog/author
/rene-brosius/>
René Brosius is currently a PhD student in Law at the University of
Bayreuth. He first studied Modern and Contemporary History, Sociology
and Political Science at the Humboldt University to Berlin and later
changed to Law at the same university. He passed his 1st and 2nd state
examinations in Berlin. While still a student, he worked in the German
Bundestag as a research assistant at the interface between politics and
administration. During this time, he specialised in the areas of special
administrative Law and European Law. After his studies, he joined the
judicial service of the State of Hessen in 2009. Since February 2020, he
has been working in the Hessian State Chancellery. In his doctoral
thesis, he examines the question of the transferability of state structure
principles of the German Basic Law to Somalia.
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