EPA deal not good for Tanzania, experts warn MPs

 
In Summary

·         The scholars, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, Dr Ng’waza Kamatta and Dr John Jingu, all from the University of Dar es Salaam, cautioned MPs during an awareness seminar held here yesterday that if the country is going to sign and ratify the deal then that would be the beginning of an end to Tanzania’s industrialization vision.

Dodoma. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and the East African Community (EAC) cannot be beneficial to Tanzania’s economy, three scholars commissioned to analyse the agreement have warned.

The scholars, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, Dr Ng’waza Kamatta and Dr John Jingu, all from the University of Dar es Salaam, cautioned MPs during an awareness seminar held here yesterday that if the country is going to sign and ratify the deal then that would be the beginning of an end to Tanzania’s industrialisation vision.

The legislators are scheduled to advise the government on the way forward with regard to the EPA on Thursday, and the experts were commissioned by the ministry of Industries, Trade and Investment to enlighten the MPs on the content and implications of the deal in the Tanzanian context.

Kenya and Rwanda have already signed the deal but it won’t be operational until all the East African Community member states sign the agreement which is protested by Tanzania. EAC Heads of State led by their chairman President John Magufuli agreed in September to push for the bloc’s commitment on the deal to January next year to allow more deliberations and negotiations on the matter.

Prof Kabudi pointed out that even though two countries in the EAC bloc have signed the deal, Tanzania shouldn’t rush into ratifying the agreement since it would have devastating effects on its economy.

He noted that the deal, which is against instituting new export duties and taxes will deprive Tanzania’s business negotiating sovereignty.

“This is a bad deal, let’s not forget that our products have no chance of competing with those coming from Europe. I thus wouldn’t advise the country to sign it, for our economy will deeply suffer if it does,” said Prof Kabudi. Dr Jingu told the MPs that the partnership agreement is clearly in favour of Europe and it is against the spirit of regional and African integration.

According to him, EPA goes against the African Union Agenda 2063, the vision which focuses on integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.

Tanzania’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows will greatly suffer should the country rush into endorsing the agreement, he noted. “Through the agreement, the EAC will have to commit to liberalising almost 82.6 per cent of all its imports for the EU by 2033,” Dr Jingu cautioned, adding: “This means we will be alienating ourselves from the rest of the world, which is bad for our growing economy.”

Another big question, according to him, is how Tanzania’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) could stand a competition with giant and sophisticated European industries.

“There is one German MP who stated that EPA agreement is like pointing a gun to African chests, so signing it is like killing ourselves,” he said. For his part, Dr Kamata advised MPs to ensure they put the country’s interests first and should stand firm to reject unbeneficial contracts.

“If we all say that we love this country, then this is not an agreement to rush into, it is really a bad one for our economy and social development,” he said adding: “Currently, we import less from EU but signing this agreement will reverse the trend and give them an unprecedented opportunity to dominate our market and flood it with their products.”

Reacting on the presentations, most of the MPs said they would ensure that the country’s interests are safeguarded, but some especially Prof Norman Sigalla (Makete-CCM) advised the most important thing is chart the way forward in case that the deal is not endorsed.

His point was also echoed by Mr Zitto Kabwe (Kigoma Urban –ACT) who said the argument should be based on how Tanzania will deal with challenges of not signing the deal.

Mr Kabwe also advised that the Trade, Industry and Environment Committee to use the remaining time before Thursday to meet local business community, experts and other stakeholders in order to come up with a comprehensive report which would inform the parliament on the best way forward.