EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY INTEGRATION AND PEOPLE-CENTEREDNESS: ASSESSMENT OF EFFORTS MADE BY KENYA AS MEMBER STATE

Abstract

The study examined EAC Integration and People-Centeredness: Assessment of Efforts Made by Kenya as Member State. This study focused on explaining: How the principle of a “people- centred” EAC is being implemented by Kenya as an EAC Partner state by different actors. From the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC, the integration process should adopt a down- top approach. In practice however, that is not the case as the top-down approach dominates the EAC‟s integration agenda. State leaders are at the Centre of the integration process in the EAC. The top-down approach undermines EAC‟s mission. Lack of people-centeredness has been mentioned widely in the literature of the old EAC Integration as among the major factors for the organization‟s collapse in 1977. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The study findings revealed that there are no policies on people-centeredness for both state and non-state actors which has generally challenged their efforts in enhancing the principle of people- centeredness and the success of the EAC integration process in general. The study found out that access to information about EAC Integration amongst Kenyan citizens was low. The findings indicated that 46.7% of the respondents receive information about EAC Monthly, while 13.3% indicated that they receive EAC information weekly and yearly respectively. It can therefore be concluded that most Kenyans are aware about the existence of EAC Integration, however lightly. The government of Kenya can therefore be said to have partly fulfilled its mandate of enhancing people-centeredness as required by the EAC Treaty. The study recommended that there should be continuous sensitization through local media to enhance people-centeredness amongst Kenyan citizens and the EAC citizens in general. There should be regular training sessions and workshops for both the state and non-state actors involved in EAC Integration process in Kenya and across the EAC region to sensitize them on the importance of EAC Integration and how they can in turn pass the same information to their citizens, enhancing the principle of people-centeredness further.