KAMPALA, Uganda — Persistent exchange rate fluctuations across East Africa are hurting the private sector and slowing regional trade, East African Community Secretary-General Stephen Patrick Mbundi has warned.
Speaking during a high-level meeting at State Lodge, Nakasero, Mbundi told Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni that volatile local currencies remain a severe barrier to economic growth for both businesses and ordinary citizens across the eight member states.
“Our citizens are really suffering because of fluctuations in currency,” Mbundi said. “It is a big hindrance to business.”
To protect the private sector from ongoing financial instability, the newly appointed EAC chief proposed an aggressive shift in strategy: a phased rollout of the long-delayed regional single currency. Mbundi argued that waiting for all member states to meet economic convergence criteria simultaneously could stall the monetary union indefinitely.
Instead, he urged that a core group of countries move ahead immediately.
“Eight countries cannot converge at the same time,” Mbundi said. “If we could start with three or four countries, then the others can join later. Otherwise, we are not doing a good service to the population.”
Museveni, who currently chairs the EAC summit, backed the push for accelerated economic integration. First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga echoed the urgency, noting that Museveni’s tenure carries a heavy expectation to deliver on the bloc’s ultimate goals.
“I am really hoping that during your tenure we should be able to achieve at least the last two pillars, integration and monetary union,” Kadaga said.
The economic hurdles facing the private sector extend beyond currency woes to regional market distortions and high logistics costs. Museveni challenged the East African Business Council to protect the regional market from external interference and manipulation by individual member states.
To lower transit costs and preserve regional infrastructure, Museveni proposed a structural overhaul of the regional transport network. He argued that heavy freight and petroleum products must be shifted to rail, leaving roads primarily for passenger traffic and lighter cargo.
“We must rationalize the transport system,” Museveni said, directing transport authorities and EAC officials to coordinate immediate connectivity solutions.
The discussions also touched on broader institutional and environmental challenges threatening regional stability. Mbundi outlined new secretariat initiatives focused on strengthening climate resilience, boosting food security through climate-smart agriculture, and managing post-harvest losses. He added that the bloc will prioritize water resource management in the Lake Victoria Basin and expand access to renewable energy.
To fund these expanding regional programs and address chronic staffing and financing shortages within EAC institutions, Museveni welcomed a proposal to levy financial contributions on non-member states exporting goods into the East African market.
The meeting was also attended by State Minister for East African Community Affairs James Magode Ikuya and technical officials from the EAC secretariat.
