Uganda, May 12 -- A functioning monetary union is not just a distant aspiration for the East African Community - it is the cornerstone that holds the Common Market together. By eliminating exchange rate risk, reducing transaction costs, and creating price stability across borders, a single currency and coordinated fiscal policy allow goods, services, capital, and people to move as freely as the EAC Treaty intended.

It is this vision of deeper integration, with cheaper intra-regional trade and stronger resilience to global shocks, that set the tone as finance and economic affairs officials convened in Arusha this week.

The East African Community opened the 18th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Finance and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) along...