Democratic Republic of Congo

The DRC joins the East Africa Community bloc

On April 8, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) formally joined the East African Community (EAC), a regional trade and political bloc. Analysts say that both the DRC and its neighbours stand to benefit from the new arrangement, which will expand the EAC as far west as the Atlantic Ocean and further open Congo’s market of 90 million people to the region. But the DRC’s ongoing security challenges could also complicate its integration, and potentially draw neighbouring countries further into conflicts in the country’s east.

Since the DRC first applied to join the EAC in 2019, many have argued that its inclusion makes logical sense. Five of the six countries currently in the bloc – South Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda – share a border with the DRC, and languages, cultures, and natural environments already straddle those borders. It is also by far the largest country in the region, and an economic powerhouse. This is significant because the main role of the EAC currently is to facilitate trade between its members by eliminating tariffs on trade within the region, and by imposing a common tariff on imports from beyond its boundaries. A 2021 analysis by the Economic Policy Research Centre found that bringing the DRC into the EAC would benefit Rwanda and Uganda in particular, boosting annual exports from those countries by $81 million and $60 million, respectively. It will also increase the DRC’s trade with the region overall by about 30 percent, the analysis showed.

Furthermore, the DRC’s rising status as a regional economic powerhouse could boost the EAC’s bargaining power globally. The DRC is mineral rich, producing two thirds of the world’s cobalt – a mineral used in batteries – and a third of its copper. Its economy grew nearly 8 percent annually between 2016 and 2021. "Numbers matter in international trade - the addition of DRC's economy to the community implies increased purchasing power," Dr Abel Kinyondo, an economist at the University of Dar es Salaam, told the BBC. The DRC’s tiny, 40 kilometre strip of Atlantic Ocean coastline, meanwhile, could one day help EAC members expand their global trade, and provide an alternative to ports on the east African coast.

But the DRC joining the EAC is also likely to pose challenges. Grinding civil war between some 120 rebel groups and the country’s government in the DRC’s east is already a major security challenge for east Africa. Troops and arms frequently travel across porous borders, and a decade ago, the United Nations accused both Rwanda and Uganda of supporting rebel groups in eastern Congo (which both countries deny). The DRC’s membership into the EAC is likely to draw the region further in. On April 22, the EAC’s members agreed to set up a regional military force to fight any rebel groups in the DRC that refused to participate in political negotiations. But some Congolese are sceptical that, given the long history of animosity between the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda in particular, a regional force would work.

“I am a little unsure of the idea of a regional force or foreign interventions. We know that these countries have interests in Congo,” tweeted Juvenal Munubo, a Congolese MP and member of parliament’s defence and security commission. “I think the solution is to invest in the Congolese army.”

Even with the challenges that may arise, there remains a great deal of optimism, but one that needs approached with caution because of the consistent thorns that arise that hamper many developments in the region. “While we support in principle the membership of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the East Africa Community, it is now critically important to monitor whether this benefits the Congolese people. Far too often, we have witnessed politicians become the only ones to benefit from such deals. In the DRC, we cannot afford this and our people deserve better. And that is why as African liberals contesting elections next year, we pledge full transparency in all of the DRC’s engagements with our neighbours and the international community. We believe that global cooperation, starting in Africa, is a key to unlocking the full potential of our economy for the prosperity of all, not just a privileged elite.” Olivier Kamitatu of the liberal Alliance for the Renewal of Congo. 

The article is written by freelance journalist Ryan Brown on behalf of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in sub-Saharan Africa.