The African Development Bank released a report on January 12 calling for the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) to establish a single currency . . . the report says a monetary union is essential for economic integration . . . the bank further states that uniting the 19 countries in the bloc into a single currency would increase the market size and facilitate the flow of goods and services . . . while a monetary union would be an important step toward cementing regional integration, this proposal is premature given the uneven economies in the bloc and resistance by member states to full integration . . . Uganda, for example, has stated that member countries need to strengthen their economies before the bloc officially integrates . . . political instability in some member countries, including Sudan, Libya and Egypt, is also likely to further complicate integration in the near term.