Kenyan MP, Musikari Kombo, specifically urged parliamentarians who attended the conference to “find their niche in the whole EPA process” so as to keep a more watchful eye on individual negotiators. Kombo said that “the EC has identified their interests. If we go for negotiations and we don’t know our interests, then they will ride over us.” Continuing, he declared that Africans “are not going to negotiate on the basis of intimidation. No deal is better than a poor deal”. The chairman of the Uganda parliamentary committee on Trade, Kasaija Kagwera, further called for the EAC to keep its “options open”.

On November 27, 2007 the EAC initiated an interim EPA, covering the areas of trade in goods, fisheries and development. The conclusion of negotiations would see the implementation of a more comprehensive EPA. Though, EU unwillingness to compromise on a vast array of issues raised by the EAC - such as the importance of export taxes for revenue, food security and environmental protection - has provoked much controversy.

The Ugandan newspaper Observer commented that the EAC’s principal worry is that, “if unrestrained agreement is reached, it will expose local players in the market to stiff competition from the EU and stunt development of the EAC economies”.

Mugisha Muntu, member of the East African Legislative Assembly, warned: “We are still weak internally. The moment a signature is appended, it is final and it will be difficult to backtrack.” He added: “Now that the EU parliament is lobbying for an extension of EPA talks, the burden is on us to look out for what happens to our people and the future. Otherwise, we shall find ourselves wriggling in a situation we shall not be able to get out from.”

Civil society echoes policymaker concerns.

The swelling numbers of critical African policy makers are also finding agreement among civil society.  A coalition of organisations known as the Economic Justice Network (EJN) delivered a caution to politicians last week in Accra, which presented to EPAs as a threat to African economic integration.

Whilst fears about the potential negative impact of the EPAs upon rural livelihoods have been sparked by the EU’s reluctance to abolish agricultural subsidies, The EJN’s main point of contention is that the EPAs could turn Africa into nothing more than a perpetual supplier of raw materials by hindering Africa’s ability to industrialize and move up the value chain.

Tetteh Hormeku, the Head of Programmes at the Third world Network-Ghana (TWN), which is one of the bodies comprising the EJN, warned that if Ghana finalised its own agreement - Ghana signed an Interim EPA back in December 2007 - it would fundamentally “undermine Africa’s attempt to have a common agreement with the EU that meets the differential development levels and needs of countries in the region”.

The Head of TWN-Africa, Sylvester Bagoro, joined Hormeku in urging Ghana to maintain its integrity by not breaking ranks with ECOWAS, which has been taking a tougher stance with the EU. Bagoro continued, “it would be in the interest of the country to pursue the option of the establishment of a solidarity fund to compensate Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Cape Verde on export losses in case regional consensus on the EPA was not reached by January 1, 2014″. According to Ghana Business News, the decision to set up such a fund was taken during a November 2011 ECOWAS Ministerial Monitoring Committee, and is yet to be implemented.

Participants of the EJN are unanimous in their calls to African governments not sign onto the EPA. Their input could provide the impetus for African policymakers to rethink its development paradigm. “We need a clear common vision and strategy that should direct us where we want to go,” said Jane Nalunga Country Director SEATINI Uganda.

Sources: Ghana: EPA Will Thwart Africa’s Industrialisation Efforts, All Africa, 11 May 2012; Civil Society Groups urges government -Don’t to bow to EU Pressure, GhanaWeb, 11 May 2012; CSOs urge Ghana’s Trade Minister to push for solidarity find in EPA process, Ghana Business News, 11 March 2012; Joint EAC/EU Statement, Seatini, 4 March 2012; Deadlines mar EAC - EU trade talks, Observer, 9 May 2012