The Effect of the East African Community on Cross Border Trade at the Malaba Border

Abstract

The study set to establish the effect of the East African Community (EAC) Protocol on cross border trade, with specific reference to the Kenya-Ugandan Malaba border. The main objectives of the study were to determine how the Protocol has affected the volume of cross border trade and to establish whether there was any effect on the volume of illegal trading. The study has explored literature on trade between Kenya and Uganda at the Malaba border and has particularly focused on the effect of bilateral unions on cross border trade. The target population were traders from the Malaba border. There being no formal data on the number of traders, the study relied on estimates of registered traders from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), which indicated that they were about 3,000. The study used a sample of 100 traders, 50 registered and the other 50 chosen using snowball sampling technique. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. The questions were both closed and open ended. Data has been presented using tables and graphs. In addition, frequencies and percentages have been used for ease of interpretation. The results showed that to a larger extent, the EAC Protocol has had a positive impact on the volume of cross border trade. The Protocol has reduced various non-tariff trade barriers which were not necessary. However, in relation to illegal cross border trade, the findings showed that the Protocol has not yet had any significant impact.