social security and social protection in the east african community

Description

As the East African regional integration progresses, the demand to address related social economic issues by civil society and other stakeholders likewise, continues to rise. Kituo Cha Katiba: The Eastern Africa Centre for Constitutional Development (KCK) has risen to this challenge by scaling up her interventions to meet the growing demands. In line with our mission: the promotion and protection of constitutionalism, good governance and democratic development in Eastern Africa, KCK’s contribution has been directed to examining the interface between economic integration and human rights. We have thus identified the subject of social security as a basic human right pertinent to the exercise by East Africans of their right to free movement of labour in the region within the context of the East African Community (EAC) Common Market Protocol. This publication is an output of a project titled Towards a Common Formal Social Security and Pension Scheme for The East African Community: An Examination of National Legislative Framework, that involved a comparative study in 2010, of the legislative framework in the area of social security and pensions schemes in the six EAC countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania Mainland, Uganda and Tanzania Zanzibar, within the context of the EAC Common Market Protocol. The project marked one of a series of projects KCK hopes to accomplish under the Common Market and in the area of EAC economic integration. I wish, on behalf of the Board and Staff of KCK, to extend our deepest gratitude to Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) for the support for this project, which also marked a major milestone in KCK’s programmatic interventions in the area of EAC economic integration. Our special thanks go to Prof. John-Jean Barya of the School of Law, Makerere University for undertaking the study with exhibited professionalism and thoroughness. KCK is highly indebted to Mr. Dominico Kabyemera of Arusha Tanzania, for the useful information provided for the study. Our most sincere appreciation goes to Mr. Jean Claude Cibogoye of Burundi, Mr. Edmond Odaba and Monica Were of Kenya, Mr. Emmanuel Kayitare of Rwanda, and Mr. Abdallah Gonzi of Tanzania Mainland, whose comments to the report were extremely valuable in refining the report. Finally, I express gratitude to the KCK Secretariat for conceptualizing the project idea and to Ms. Jackee Omara for coordinating the project.