A new song and a new flag. This is what awaits East Africans who will dance to the tune of a regional anthem as the new banner is unfurled on Friday to mark the passing of a decade since the rebirth of the East African Community.
In addition to the new song, the bloc will on November 20 usher in a Common Market and a fully-fledged Customs Union.
This will herald what EAC Secretary General Juma Mwapachu says is a return to lost glory for the people of the five states — Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
Mr Mwapachu said the community has made rapid strides towards integration, progress that has surprised the world’s biggest regional bloc — the European Union — which took more than 40 years to attain what "we are celebrating in 10 years this week."
In an interview with The EastAfrican in Arusha, Mr Mwapachu said the heads of EAC partner states had committed themselves to give the region’s residents a Common Market as a 10th anniversary gift.
This Friday, they will sign the Common Market Protocol.
It will open the borders within the five member countries of the Community, allowing free movement of people, goods, services and capital.
Source: Allafrica