East Africa Legislative Assembly in Arusha, Tanzania - Photo credit - EALA website

A South Sudanese member of the East African parliament has questioned the relevance of full integration of the regional bloc, claiming his fellow citizens are not equally enjoying the benefits of the organization.

Raising the complaint during a sitting this week, the lawmakers outlined a number of issues such as economic inequality, uneven access to benefits, and institutional readiness.

They argue that South Sudanese citizens are not allowed to do business in East African states while citizens from the region are freely working in the country.

Another situation is South Sudan’s lack of economic diversification and heavy reliance on oil revenue in comparison to other EAC member states like Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

The MPs decried what they called trade imbalances where South Sudan imports far more than it exports to the region, limiting its competitive edge in the shared market.

EALA member Dr. Gabriel Garang Aher Arol said discrimination against South Sudanese nationals in other member states is a barrier to integration.

“If there is a country in the East African Community that has actually accepted all East Africans to work and to move freely, there is no doubt that it is South Sudan,” he said in Arusha.

“I’m actually telling you this without fear of contradictions. If you look all over Kenya, South Sudanese are not doing business actually, maybe except with the millionaires who can be able to afford that. This is the reality.”

“Nobody can debate about it. You go to South Sudan, and today, you will find all Kenyans doing all sorts of things and there’s no discrimination about where they come from.”

On his part, Gideon Gatban Thor suggested the need for the region to assess the minimum standard to start to do business in the East African Community.

“Not only South Sudan that has got some challenges with the implementation of certain key important areas of our integration especially on investment. The Council of Ministers needs to assess the standard minimum of people to start to do business in EAC.”

Mukulia Aysason Kennedy said it is important that South Sudan government domesticates the East African Treaty in order for its citizens to realize the bloc’s economic benefits.

“South Sudan has not domesticated the treaty and therefore, any other East African load does not apply at the territory of South Sudan.”

“So, with that, the best to do is for us to make sure that the treaty is domesticated by having it passed by the cabinet and parliament. And then for us to have the legal basis under which we can say, don’t register.”

According to the experts, South Sudan is yet to harmonize its internal laws to conform to the East African Community integration.

On December 5, South Sudan’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs tabled the East African Community (EAC) Treaty Bill 2024 to the National Legislative Assembly for ratification and domestication.

The document’s submission in parliament marks a major step in aligning the national laws with the provisions of the EAC Treaty, after South Sudan joined the bloc in 2016.

The bill aims to domesticate the Treaty establishing the EAC and its protocols, ensuring that South Sudan fulfills its obligations as a member state.

By incorporating the treaty into national law, the government seeks to grant the treaty the force of law, making it an integral part of South Sudan’s legal framework.