KENYA and Tanzania have maintained their position as the first and second largest economies in the East African Community (EAC), despite the latest inclusion into the bloc of mineral-rich the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Kenya is leading the six other member states with the biggest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) worth 110.35 billion US dollars as of last year, followed by Tanzania with 67.78 billion US dollars, according to World Bank data.
This enabled the two countries to consolidate their position by far in comparison to DRC’s GDP 53.96 billion US dollars.
However, DRC knocked off Uganda in third position and Kampala dropped to fourth ahead of Rwanda and Burundi. South Sudan data are scant.
An economist-cum-investment banker Dr Hildebrand Shayo said DRC failed to alter the top two because its economy is underestimated due to plundering that lacks value addition to attract real value for DR- Congo and its people.
He believes that all resources drawn from DRC are not properly recorded.
“What I am arguing here is that the net wealth of DRC as a member of EAC is underestimated, taking into account all industrial and technological minerals being mined in DRC,” Dr Shayo told the ‘Daily News’.
DRC’s GDP was 53.96 billion US dollars last year, according to official data from the World Bank, while per capita was last recorded at 517.93 US dollars.
If DRC was peaceful like Tanzania for instance, and all economic activities taking place swiftly and calmingly, perhaps its GDP could even have shocked the rest of the world’s big economies.
Kenya’s GDP per capita for last year was 2,007 US dollars, a 7.2per cent increase from 2020, which was 1,872 US dollars.
On other hand, Tanzania’s GDP per capita increased slightly to 1,074.89 US dollars from 1,061.17 US dollars.
The GDP in Uganda was 40.43 billion US dollars last year, while per capita in Uganda last stood at 894.39 US dollars.
Rwanda GDP was at 11.07 billion US dollars last year and per capita was last recorded at 902.62 US dollars.
The GDP in Burundi was 2.90 billion US dollars and per capita was last recorded at 267.32 US dollars last year.
Meanwhile, Uganda is leading other EAC member states in exporting to DR-Congo going by 2020 trade data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
In 2020, Uganda exported goods worth 265 million US dollars to Congo, while importation stood at 17.7million US dollars. Uganda bought raw tobacco, scrap iron, and sawn wood, while DR Congo bought cement, palm oil and rice.
The Kenya-Congo trade was in favour of Nairobi, which in 2020 exported goods worth 137million to Kinshasa, compared to 24.8million US dollars’ worth of goods Kenya imported from DRC.
The main products that Kinshasa exported to Nairobi were sawn wood, perfume plants, and coffee, while Kenya exported to Congo mainly rolled tobacco, coated flat-rolled iron, and confectionery sugar.
The trade between Tanzania and DRC leans on the Kinshasa side as it sold goods worth 1.67billion US dollars mainly refined copper, cobalt oxides and hydroxides, as well as scrap copper.
Tanzania exported 74.4 million US dollars to DR-Congo, mainly quicklime, magnesium carbonate, and glass bottles.
In 2020, Rwanda exported 8.39 million US dollars to Congo mainly raw iron bars, cement and wheat flours while imported 2.29 million US dollars mainly vegetable saps, sawn wood, and flavoured water.
In 2020, neither country exported nor imported services to one another.
