Dossier signed Guy-Arsène Izere and Agnès Ndirubusa

East African Community countries are eyeing the newcomer. The Democratic Republic of Congo has several assets to seduce.

It is the second largest country on the continent. The DRC shares borders with five of the EAC states: Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan.

This country is also famous for being a geological "scandal" with a breathtakingly rich subsoil. Diamond, gold, copper, cobalt, coltan, the list of its mining products is long.

Add to that forests as far as the eye can see, enormous hydroelectric potential and its population of more than 89 million inhabitants. This country undoubtedly has a vast investment and sales market.

But the new recruit of the EAC also brings in his luggage, his lot of insecurity mainly in the east of the country. Several national and regional rebel groups have taken up residence in this part of the country, which has been plagued by insecurity for more than a decade.

But the EAC countries are preparing to deal with the DRC, which has applied for membership. The compliance verification team of this regional entity has already transmitted its report to the Heads of State of the EAC countries.

Ministers responsible for East African Community Affairs have recommended that Heads of State consider the latest report of the Compliance Review Team. A decision taken at their 44th extraordinary meeting held on November 22.

The report observed, among other things, the institutional frameworks in place, legal frameworks, policies, projects and programs, areas of cooperation with other EAC Partner States and the expectations of the DRC vis-à-vis with regard to its membership of the Community.

Issues relating to peace and security, language and legal systems are among the areas that will be considered for a strategic way forward in the negotiations.

EAC General Secretary Dr Peter Mathuki was very enthusiastic. “DRC’s population of around 90 million has the potential to help expand market and investment opportunities. Together with the DRC, the Community will open the corridor from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as from north to south, thus expanding the economic potential of the region,” he said.

Trade between Burundi and the DRC

Exports from Burundi to the Democratic Republic of the Congo have increased significantly, from 36,665.3 million Burundian francs in 2015 to 60,945.9 million Burundian francs in 2020, an increase of 39%. According to data from the Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB)According to data from the Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB).

However, they had decreased by BIF 13,081 million in 2018 compared to the previous year. The value of these exports was BIF 46,792.1 million in 2017 and decreased to BIF 33,711.1 million in 2018.

The DRC is the second largest market for Burundi after the United Arab Emirates. The value of exports to this Arab country was BIF 100,214.8 million in 2020 and that of exports to the DRC was BIF 60,945.9 million for the same year.

For example, for the year 2020, exports to the DRC represented more than 48% of exports from all of Africa. They were 60,945.9 million BIF for the DRC while they were 119,394 million BIF for all of Africa.

They also exceed by 10,202.1 million BIF, exports from all of Europe, which were 50,743.8 million BIF for the same year 2020, according still to BRB dataaccording still to BRB data .

Exports from Burundi to the Democratic Republic of the Congo generally consist of food, juices, mineral water and beverages. And, imports are mainly made up of loincloths, shoes and powdered milk.

Imports from the DRC also followed the same proportions. They have increased considerably: they were 5,399.3 million BIF in 2015, they rose to 6,946.2 million BIF in 2018 and they reached 16,256.9 million BIF in 2020, according to data from the bank of the Republic of Burundi.

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Pr Léonidas Ndayizeye: "Great opportunity"

For Professor Léonidas Ndayizeye, teacher at the University of Burundi at the Faculty of Economics, intra-community exchanges in the East African Community remain very weak. “However, regional blocs are formed to boost intraregional trade.”

Mr. Ndayizeye finds that there is an immediate gain: “The free movement of people and goods in this community. ". If Burundi had goods to sell in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it would be a great opportunity, because it is a large market. Nevertheless, this professor believes that everything has its beginning.

Another economist, on condition of anonymity, said that to take full advantage of the DRC's membership of the EAC, Burundi should think about diversifying export products.

Pr Evariste Ngayimpenda: "Improving our education system to make our students more competitive"

Professor Evariste Ngayimpenda, rector of the University of Lake Tanganyika, indicates that student and teacher exchanges already existed between the DRC and Burundi at the level of teaching and research. “With the integration of the DRC, exchanges should intensify”.

According to him, with the entry of the DRC into the East African Community, Burundian universities wishing to open training courses in the DRC will benefit from a certain ease. "Besides, two universities, namely Lumière and Martin Luther King had tried to enter the DRC," he said.

He adds that the Congolese will also be able to open training courses here. “Considering the training costs, they are very low in Burundi. The country will get a better part of it.”

Mr. Ngayimpenda recommends that private operators and public authorities understand that this is a good opportunity. But, he continues, opportunities benefit those who know how to anticipate and seize them. “We must also improve our education system to make our students more competitive. »

ACTF-BU: “Good news for cross-border traders”

Thierry Havyarimana, representative of the Association of Cross-Border Traders of Burundi, welcomes the accession of the DRC to the East African Community. “This is good news for Burundian and Congolese cross-border traders.”

For him, traders from both countries will be entitled to the simplified trade regime of the EAC. The latter allows merchants from member countries with a capital of less than 2,000 US dollars to avoid paying certain taxes.

"You only benefit from this exemption after the presentation of the certificate of origin to prove that these articles are produced in the member countries of the community", specifies Mr. Havyarimana.

He hopes that the non-tariff barriers that still persist between Burundi and the DRC will be completely removed and also asks to ensure compliance with the laws that govern the EAC, as is the case for other countries.

Analysis/ “So many challenges ahead”

Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Study Group (GEC) at New York University and expert in the region provides us with its analysis of the challenges linked to the integration of the DRC. In a tense political and security context, despite which the EAC countries must be able to capitalize on the entry of this great country into the community.

The American researcher indicates that there are several challenges facing the EAC countries. They are essentially political, security and economic.

As for policy, Jason Stearns notes that it is imperative that countries address the issue of mistrust between East African Community countries.

Rwanda and Uganda who are at loggerheads whose common borders are probably closed. This is also the case of Rwanda and Burundi.

This mistrust also exists between the DRC and its three eastern neighbours, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. All these three countries participated in the Congo war and are viewed with great suspicion by the Congolese population. In general, therefore, a way must be found to generate trust between these EAC countries. It's cultural and political.

The second challenge is security. As long as there is violence in eastern Congo, it will be difficult for the region to fully integrate. It is true that there is a large cross-border trade that takes place between Congo and its eastern neighbors.

But this trade faces this insecurity and it is difficult in this context of instability for large investments to be made in the DRC. “This is a generational challenge. It won't be resolved in two or three days. But it is also something for which the DRC will need these neighbors. Needs in military cooperation, but also in technical cooperation”.

It is therefore for all EAC countries not to allow armed groups to use neighbors as rear bases. For example the M23 rebels are in camps in Uganda and Rwanda, according to him.

This country indicates that several Rwandan rebels are using Burundi, the DRC and Uganda as rear bases. The Burundian rebels have strongholds in South Kivu… In short, this must stop and the climate of trust between the countries must return.

The other very serious challenge is an economic one. This is the biggest challenge for the East African Community in general. This is linked to the fact that the different countries of the region are at different stages, levels of development.

And this creates fears within the member countries. According to the analyst, Some are afraid of the idea of ​​completely opening their borders for the migration of people and companies. They are afraid that more developed countries will benefit even more to the detriment of local populations. It is the fear that for example Kenya could benefit more than the other members.

Jason Stearns says this fear is particularly common among Tanzanians who fear that the tourism sector will be flooded by Kenyans.

This fear is also found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “In Goma, in Bukavu, even the mineral water comes from neighbors. Milk, matches, to a lesser degree mattresses... This opening would be an opportunity for other countries, but perhaps not for the DRC. This is linked to this distrust of each other. Most Congolese wonder how to allow a neighbor who had invaded, who occupied part of their territory, who has a very bad reputation (I think for example here in Rwanda, but in a way also Burundi and Uganda) to return home, but now as a trader to make money".

This is a major challenge that we will have to face. So if the countries of the community can find solutions to these challenges, integration can go well. “But already we are analyzing that between the other EAC countries, the current is not going very well at the moment, I think that the DRC will not be different. The challenges will remain if states fail to speak frankly to each other”.

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