BY:JUMAH WITONZE KISEKKA
For more than a decade, East African leaders have spoken eloquently about integration. They have signed protocols, issued communiqués, posed for family photographs and repeatedly promised that the East African Community (EAC) is moving towards a common currency.
Yet, thirteen years after signing the East African Monetary Union Protocol in 2013, East Africans are still carrying wallets full of different currencies every time they cross a border.
The dream is alive only on paper.
This delay is becoming increasingly expensive.
The East African Community is no longer a small regional bloc. With nine Partner States, a population exceeding 340 million people, and a combined economy worth more than US$370 billion, the region has all the ingredients to become one of the world’s fastest-growing common markets. What it lacks is the political courage to complete the integration project.
The irony is striking. East Africa wants to trade as one region but insists on paying in nine different currencies.
Every day, traders lose money converting Uganda Shillings into Kenyan Shillings, Tanzanian Shillings, Rwandan Francs or other regional currencies. Manufacturers absorb exchange-rate risks. Investors hesitate because currencies fluctuate independently. Consumers ultimately pay higher prices.
These are not theoretical costs—they are hidden taxes imposed on East Africans by policy inertia.
Ironically, trade within the EAC continues to grow despite these barriers. The latest EAC Quarterly Statistics Bulletin shows that total merchandise trade reached US$42.4 billion in the last quarter of 2025, while intra-EAC trade rose by 28 percent to US$19.3 billion, reflecting the region’s growing economic potential.
Imagine how much more business could flourish if traders no longer had to worry about exchange-rate volatility and repeated currency conversion costs.
Even earlier in 2025, intra-EAC trade had already increased by 24.5 percent during the second quarter, demonstrating that businesses are eager to trade across borders whenever barriers are reduced.
The private sector has moved faster than governments.
Kenyan banks operate in Uganda. Ugandan manufacturers export cement, steel and processed foods across the region. TanzaniaS ports serve several neighbouring countries. Rwanda has positioned itself as a logistics and conference hub. Cross-border transport companies operate daily from Mombasa to Kigali, Juba and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Business has already integrated East Africa.
Politics is struggling to catch up.
Critics warn that a common currency requires disciplined fiscal policy, low inflation and sound public finances. They are correct. A monetary union cannot succeed if some governments spend recklessly while expecting others to absorb the consequences.
But these are reasons to accelerate reforms—not excuses for endless postponement.
Europe faced similar doubts before introducing the Euro. Today, despite occasional challenges, the Euro remains one of the world’s strongest reserve currencies and has eliminated exchange-rate uncertainty among its member states.
Africa also offers lessons. The CFA franc has operated across multiple countries for decades. While its governance differs from what East Africa seeks, it proves that a shared currency on the continent is entirely possible.
The greatest danger facing the EAC today is not economic weakness. It is complacency.
Every summit ends with ambitious declarations. Every year produces another roadmap. Every delay is explained away by “technical preparations.” Meanwhile, entrepreneurs continue paying conversion charges, investors continue pricing in currency risks, and ordinary citizens continue wondering why crossing one East African border still feels like entering a different economic universe.
History will not remember how many meetings were held in Arusha.
History will remember whether East African leaders had the courage to finish what they started.
The African Continental Free Trade Area is reshaping commerce across the continent. Global supply chains are evolving. Competition for investment is intensifying. East Africa cannot afford to remain economically fragmented while the rest of the world is consolidating into larger markets.
Regional integration cannot stop at customs unions, highways and immigration desks.
Money is the bloodstream of every economy.
If East Africans can move more freely, if goods can cross borders more easily, and if businesses increasingly operate across the region, then the currency used to buy, sell and invest should also reflect that reality.
The East African Monetary Union should no longer be treated as a distant aspiration reserved for speeches and policy documents. It should become an urgent economic priority with measurable timelines and unwavering political commitment.
East Africa has delayed long enough.
A region that dreams together should also trade together, invest together and, ultimately, pay together.
One market deserves one currency. The time for hesitation has passed.
The Auther Uganda’s Special Envoy to Bahrain,Gomba NRM Chairperson,,PLU Greater Mpigi Co-ordinater and EALA Candidate
