Posted in Press Release
East African Legislative Assembly, Nairobi, Kenya: 4th March, 2019: Regional Speakers have launched the East African Parliamentary Institute (EAPI) in Nairobi, with the training outfit expected to harness capacities and narrow the skills gap of Parliamentarians and staff in the quest to further strengthen the integration process.
Speaking at the official launch on Friday last week, EALA Speaker, Rt Hon Ngoga K Martin, underscored the importance of the institute’s presence in the region, to catapult the integration process and provide a valuable link between people within the EAC and beyond. He remarked that EAPI would provide an adequate base of knowledge on legislative matters to Members of Parliament and staff who at times come from different background when they join Parliaments.
Rt Hon Ngoga lauded the regional speakers for their contribution to the process. “The launch of the EAPI is definitely an indication of the total commitment accrued to the integration dispensation by Parliaments and by yourselves. It is only befitting to recognize each and every one of you for the support you have personally and/or collectively accorded and extended to the EAPI”, Rt Hon Ngoga said.
The launch of EAPI follows the enactment of the East African Parliamentary Institute Bill, 2011, which anchors and provides for the legal framework of its establishment. The EAPI Act inter alia establishes a mechanism for capacity and skills development to promote professionalism through establishment of the institute thus giving effect to article 5 (1) of the Treaty. The Speaker lauded the EAC Heads of State for assent to the Bill, whose operationalization, now sets basis for motion of the objectives of the Institute.
According to the Act, the regional Speakers form the Board of Trustees of the new Institution which shall be chaired by the EALA Speaker while the Clerk of the regional assembly shall oversee the activities of its Governing Council. At the recent 38th Meeting of the Council of Ministers, the matter of an institutional structure was discussed and according to Rt Hon Ngoga, the Board of Trustees shall promptly propel forward the administrative framework to make EAPI fully operational.
Present at the occasion were Speaker of the Kenya National Assembly, Rt Hon Justin Muturi, Rt Hon Kenneth Lusaka, Speaker of the Senate of Kenya, the Vice President of the Senate of Rwanda, Hon Gakuba Jean d’ Arc and the Chair of the EAC Committee in Parliament of Uganda, Hon Ouma George Abbott, who represented the Speaker. The Speaker Emeritus of EALA, Rt Hon Abdirahin H. Abdi, was also in attendance.
In his remarks, Speaker of Senate of Kenya, Rt Hon Kenneth Lusaka, rallied for capacity development of legislators saying in remained critical in ensuring effective service delivery to the Parliamentary leadership, legislators and the electorate. The Speaker called for collective effort on the part of parliaments and all other stakeholders towards offering sustained commitment and unity of purpose.
On his part, Speaker of the Kenya National Assembly, Rt Hon Justin Muturi, affirmed that EAPI would be a catalyst in guiding legislators to embrace evidence-based legislation which would play a key part in ensuring quality of legislation is improved. The Vice President of the Senate of Rwanda, Hon Gakuba Jean d’ Arc hailed the inception of the Institute as visionary and said the Parliament of Rwanda was committed to ensuring it is fully in operations. Hon George Ouma Abbot of Parliament of Uganda reiterated the need for strong institutions in the integration dispensation.
EAPI was initially mooted in 2001 as a joint venture between the State University of New York (SUNY), the National Assemblies of the Partner States and EALA as well as the United States International University (USIU). At that point, the FORD Foundation offered the initial seed fund.
A key conference, bringing together senior parliamentary staff from the region took place 3 years later (in 2004) and the occasion served as an avenue to share experiences with regards to implementing change and embracing modernization in the respective legislatures. Under the new arrangement, Parliaments of the region are to largely fund the institution, a move hailed as key in its long-term sustainability.
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For more information, please contact:
Bobi Odiko
Senior Public Relations Officer
East African Legislative Assembly
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255-27-2508240
Fax: +255-27-2503103
Cell: +255-787-870945, +254-733-718036
Email: BOdiko [at] eachq.org
Web: www.eala.org
About the East African Legislative Assembly:
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is the Legislative Organ of the Community and has a cardinal function to further EAC objectives, through its Legislative, Representative and Oversight mandate. It was established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.
Posted in Press Release
Lake Victoria Basin Commission Secretariat, Kisumu, Kenya: The 20th Nile Day Celebrations held on 22nd February 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda, featured interventions coordinated regionally by Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) in the 5 Partner States of the East African Community (EAC).
Sectoral interventions emphasized in the 20th Nile Day Celebrations included, but not limited to water security, sanitation, hygiene, sustainable water management, climate change adaptions, among others.
To fit into such sectoral discussions in Nile Day Celebrations, participants from LVBC presented and exhibited the Commission’s contributions in sustainable management of a key global water resource—Lake Victoria and the Lake Victoria Basin through programmatic interventions in the 5 Partner States of East African Community.
The LVBC programmatic interventions are in line with 5 EAC development strategy which emphasized a people-centered drives towards regional integration.
Noting the complexity of managing trans-boundary resources in most basins, delegates in Kigali Nile Basin Initiative Conference underscored effective cooperation as one of the pathways for sustainable development in the wider water basins. Consensus and cooperation have been emphasized as critical success factors for nascent and thriving regional integration by inter-state and regional based organizations.
The 20th Anniversary, delegated observed reflected commendable commitments by NBI riparian countries some of which equally constitute members of the EAC Partner States—Rwanda, Burundi, the United Republic of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda—the host of the Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat. River Nile and Lake Victoria are natural water resources, which demand high levels of hydro-diplomacy as a strategy for unlocking existing climate change, and water resources related development challenges in riparian countries.
Eng. Innocent Ntabana, Executive Director of Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) commended the existing strategic partnership between East African Community through Lake Victoria Basin Commission and Nile Basin Initiative. Touring and exploring LVBC Knowledge Products exhibited at the 20 Nile Exhibition Conference, NBI Executive Director also informed Ministers about sectoral synergies and LVBC-NBI cooperation anchored on Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two basin-based inter-governmental regional organizations.
Delegates to the Nile Day Conference an integral activity of 20th Nile Day Celebrations reiterated the importance of inter-state cooperation, collective sharing of resource benefits, dialogue and placing water security at the center of regional transformation and sustainable development of countries in the Nile Basin.
All the above points reflected the guiding theme of 20th Nile Day Celebrations—Stronger Together—a message emphasizing sustainable future through effective management of transboundary resources such as Lake Victoria and River Nile.
Representing the Executive Secretary of Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Isaac Nyarwaya, Principal Resource Officer handed-over Lake Victoria Bain Atlas to Ministers from Nile riparian countries and other participants.
The Lake Victoria Basin: Atlas of Our Changing Environment (2017) is a Knowledge Management Product aimed at guiding policy and decision-making within the Lake Victoria Basin while also showcasing the value of EAC regional integration.
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Water & Sanitation, Republic of Kenya, Simon Kipromo Chelugui, commended policy formulation and strategic guidance aimed at bettering lives of people in the Nile Basin at the East African Community through Lake Victoria Basin Commission.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary highlighted harsh climatic extremes and their associated consequences in all riparian countries of Nile as a critical challenge still barring the actualizations of development aspirations for many countries. He also recommended countries to prioritize projects and programmes of regional significance for sustainable management of shared resources—Rivers Nile, Lake Victoria and Water Towers.
Dr.Vincent Biruta, Minister of Environment, Republic of Rwanda, the guest of honor of the Nile Day Celebrations reiterated the strategic value of partnership as one of the strategies for achieving regional agendas. He called for Nile Riparian Countries to acknowledge the existence of challenges and harness new technologies to improve water use and application of Integrated Water Management Approaches to reverse water scarcity challenges.
The guest of honor also applauded the spirit of cooperation, which characterized Nile riparian countries and recommended that it should be promoted for the sustainability of achieved successes in the 20 years of NBI’s existence.
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For more information, please contact:
Dr. Willy Mugenzi, PhD.
(+254) 735 39 34 34 (Kenya)
(+250) 788 35 12 89 (Rwanda)
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About the Lake Victoria Basin Commission:
Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) is a specialized institution of the East African Community (EAC) located in the City of Kisumu, Republic of Kenya and within the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB). The Commission is mandated to coordinate sustainable development and management of the Lake Victoria Basin in the 5 EAC Partner States.
