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By ADAM IHUCHA
 Arusha, Tanzania ((eTN) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is pushing for the East African region to embrace industrial revolution for the bloc to fly its population from the state of dire poverty, to a promised land of riches and prosperity. According to Museveni, an embracement of industrial revolution is a lasting solution for the EAC bloc economic prosperity in modern days.
Addressing the fifth meeting of the second East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Arusha on Wednesday, Museveni, who is also a chairman of EAC Summit, said, "Agriculture alone, moreover subsistence agriculture, cannot cater for the employment needs of the 120 million East Africans, cannot earn enough foreign currency and cannot generate enough taxes."
He further said as the region heading towards federation, all member states, at the level, work to bring in and facilitate more and more investors.
"We must combat all the negative anti-investor attitudes and practices: corruption, indifference to their needs, delays, etc. As each of our economies grows, East Africa will be stronger," Museveni noted.
The EAC summit boss, back home in Uganda popularly known as Mr. Vision, was optimistic that the EAC is deepening its integration process.
President Museveni cited the ongoing process towards the establishment of the Common Market and the enlargement of the community, with the recent admission of Rwanda and Burundi as clear evidence. "Today, the trading bloc embraces a strong and large market of a combined population of 120 million people, has a land area of 1.8 million sq. kilometers with a combined GDP of US$ 41 billion," he explained.
Museveni, however, noted that although the size of the EAC economy is still embarrassingly small, compared to other economies of the World with comparable populations, the potential is great.
He said he believes that the political integration of EAC, in the form of a federation, would accelerate the process of industrialization and modernization because of the bigger market being a more attractive investment destination and more clout in trade negotiations with other strong countries or blocs such as the USA, China, India, Russia and European Union.
"It is the factor of size that helped India and China to frog-leap in terms of development and social transformation," Museveni said, stressing that it is imperative that the political strata and other elements of the elite wake up to the need for economic and social transformation so that the labor force shifts from agriculture to industry and services.
There were, however, some divergences of opinion on the timing of such a Federation. The samples showed that the populations of Kenya and Uganda, overwhelmingly, supported both the Federation and the fast-tracking as recommended by the Amos Wako Committee.
The population sampled in Tanzania, on the other hand, overwhelmingly bought the idea of the Political Federation of EAC, but did not support the integration timetable as recommended by the Wako's Committee.
There were also concerns expressed about issues like land and natural resources in relation to this political integration.
The EAC Authority decided to maintain a united position on this matter by directing for the fast-tracking of the Common Market.
According to the agreed framework of the EAC Treaty, the entry point of EAC integration w
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