The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Ministry for East African Cooperation (MEAC) organized a three-day workshop on the implementation of the Common Market Protocol from 5-7 May, 2014. The idea behind the workshop, initiated by the Government of Tanzania and implemented by IOM in the framework of the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP), was to give senior government officials from different Departments, Ministries and Agencies a platform to discuss the status of implementation of the Common Market and spur its domestication in Tanzania. A central requirement of the EAC-CMP is for Partner States to ease border crossings. The annexes related to the free movement of persons and labour, especially, have clear ramifications for migration management in the region.

The three-day event brought together senior officials from theMEAC, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ministry of Agriculture,President and Prime Minister’s Offices,  the Attorney General’s Chambers,Immigration, Refugees Department and Police, whose activities are impacted by the Common Market, and who were able to bring their specific expertise to the discussion.

This was the third workshop on the implementation of the CMP organized by IOM under the UNDAP funding, signallingIOM’s strong partnership with the Ministry for East African Cooperation and other government entities.

The workshop was designed to be facilitative of discussion on the current status of implementation of the CMP, the challenges that lie ahead, as well as ways to overcome them. In addition, participants visited the soon-to-be operational Holili One Stop Border Post (OSBP), following a presentation delivered by IOM’s Mr. Ramkishun on the concept of OSBP. This is of particular interest, as the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) passed theOSBP Bill in 2013, which once assented to by Presidents from the Partner States, should boost the implementation of the Common Market Protocol, according to proponents.

From the presentations it became apparent that the Government of Tanzania has taken significant steps to implement the CMP. For example, in relation to Protocol Provisions for the free movement of persons, Tanzania has started issuing free visitors’passes to EAC residents to move around freely within EAC countries, for a period of up to six months.Headway has been made also with regard to the harmonization of standards for work permits, although challenges remain, such as difference in fees (Kenya and Rwanda have lifted work permit fees for EAC residents, while Uganda is in the process of waiving work permit fees for Kenyans and Rwandans, and Tanzania still charges fees for issuing work permits to EAC citizens). Animprovement with regard to the liberalization of the movement oflabour in Tanzania is that the processing time for applications for work permits has been reduced from 21 days to 7.Another positive development is the big increase in the number of resident permits that have been issued to nationals from other Partner States. In 2010, a total of 338 resident permits were issued bythe Government of Tanzania, increasing to 441 and 602 in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Between January and June 2013 alone, a total of 1018 resident permits were granted to nationals of other EAC countries.At the workshop The MEAC reiterated the government’s stance that it is in full support of implementing the CMP in order to reap its benefits for the country and its citizens.

Although Tanzania has made much progress with respect to implementing the CMP, obstacles clearly remain. Among the challenges identified during the three-day event was the laborious and resource-intensive process of amending national laws and regulations to comply with EAC laws and policies. A lawyer present from MEAC, however, pointed out that progress is being made in this regard, with a number of laws currently being up for review.The fruitful discussion that took place during the workshop was rounded off by a session on the way forward to fully implement the CMP, focusing on enhancing inter-ministerial coordination in implementing the CMP and awareness-raising to gain public support for the Common Market.

Officials came up with recommendations to accelerate implementation of the CMP, including structural issues, such as expanding the National Implementation Committee (NIC) to include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and other important stakeholders, as well as logistics issues, for example the need for increased budget and personnel for MEAC.

Overall, the workshop was considered to be a big success. Participants were positive about the prospect of having such workshops in the future, and called for a broader base of participation for future initiatives, including key ministries, such as the Ministry for Trade. IOM is committed to continuing its partnership with the Government of Tanzaniato further drive the implementation of the EAC Common Market, and as such, intends to build on this success and organize more workshops in the future for key stakeholders on the CMP.