A Closer Look into EAC Chief Peter Mathuki: Triumphs and Trials in Tenure
The East African Community Council of Ministers’ choice to assign Deputy Secretary-General Annette Ssemuwemba as the interim leader in Arusha until the inauguration of Veronica Nduva brought Peter Mathuki’s tenure at the regional bloc to an early close.
Critics have characterized Dr. Mathuki’s time in office as a blend of successes and shortcomings. Last month, he was appointed as Kenya’s ambassador to Moscow.
On April 23, 2021, Dr. Mathuki was appointed to the position, making him the second Kenyan in this role after Francis Muthaura, who held the post from March 14, 1996, to April 24, 2001.
There was no public announcement regarding Dr. Mathuki’s resignation if it occurred. An internal memo outlining the changes appeared to indicate his abrupt departure.
Dr. Mathuki led the EAC Secretariat during a period of growth for the bloc, managing the inclusion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia as the seventh and eighth members of the group.
He was recognized for proposing and implementing the East African Community Regional Force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where they operated for a year until they were expelled by an unsatisfied Kinshasa last December. He aimed for an expansionist approach, trying to involve countries from the Horn of Africa and advocating for the transformation of the secretariat into a commission.
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In the previous year, the government of Tanzania granted him ownership of a 125-acre plot in Arusha for the EAC to construct its state-of-the-art headquarters.
The region’s private sector recognizes that the EAC has seen significant growth under Dr. Mathuki’s leadership with the inclusion of the DRC and Somalia.
With a total population exceeding 300 million, the EAC now covers a large market of consumers, offering businesses opportunities to tap into new markets and boosting economic development across various industries.
“We expanded the EAC by the admission of DRC and Somalia, which is good for the private sector now as this is a market of 320 million people. But we did not achieve this with the deepening of the integration process,” said John Kalisa, CEO of the East African Business Council.
“In terms of deepening the integration, in 2024, we are supposed to achieve a monetary union of one single currency, by putting together all the institutions to start operation in 2024, but now we have pushed it for the next 10 years. The private sector is not happy by pushing the dates further,” Mr Kalisa told Gossipa2z.com.
Dr. Mathuki introduced the new fourth-band common external tariff system, which was well-received by the business sector.
His persistent support for the region’s competitiveness led to the adoption of a 35% rate as the fourth tier of the East African Community (EAC) Common External Tariff (CET), which is now being implemented.
The goal of this project was to support local manufacturing, enhance value-added processes, and drive industrialization to strengthen the area’s global market competitiveness.
Dr. Mathuki held the position of CEO at the EABC from 2018 to 2021 and was a member of the East African Legislative Assembly. Consequently, the business sector anticipated higher performance.
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“Generally the private sector was frustrated that he was more involved in politics and security issues than fostering the interests of the private sector investors in the EAC,” said Mr Kalisa.
In 2021, when Dr. Mathuki assumed his position, he vowed to boost the EAC’s internal trade from 16% to 40%. This goal has not yet been met.
“For over 10 years the EAC’s intra-trade still stands at 16 percent yet we and the SG committed to move it to 40 percent in five years, though he served for three years,” said Kalisa.
The EABC criticized him for not organizing any secretary general-CEOs meetings in the last three years.
Since the re-establishment of the East African Community (EAC) in 1999, round table discussions have traditionally served as platforms where the EAC and the private sector engage in dialogue.
Similar to his predecessor Liberat Mfumukeko, Dr. Mathuki also experienced strained relations with the legislators at Eala.
When he was recalled, members of parliament were advocating for his reprimand due to spending approximately $6 million without the assembly’s authorization.
Ugandan legislator Paul Musamali during the debate on President William Ruto’s speech at the opening of the Nairobi session said member countries should deploy to the EAC Secretariat competent people who are “ideologically oriented and clear about the mission and vision of the East African integration agenda”.
A Closer Look into EAC Chief Peter Mathuki: Triumphs and Trials in Tenure