Posted in Press Release
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 30th November, 2018: The 20th Ordinary Meeting of the Summit of the East African Community Heads of State that was slated for Friday, 30th November, 2018 at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) in Arusha, Tanzania has been postponed to a later date.
Making the announcement at the AICC’s Simba Hall, the Chairperson of the EAC Council, Hon Dr. Kirunda Kivejinja, said that the Summit would not take place due to a lack of quorum caused by the absence of the Republic of Burundi.
“According to Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure of the Summit of the EAC Heads of State, quorum is made of all Partner States representation which is in consonance with decision making by consensus under Article 12 of the Treaty,” Dr. Kivejinja, who is also Uganda’s 2nd Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of EAC Affairs.
The decision to postpone the 20th Ordinary Summit was taken by President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda; President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya; President Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli of Tanzania; Hon. Paul Moyom Akec, Minister of Trade, Industry and EAC Affairs representing South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, and; Hon. Dr. Richard Sezibera, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, representing Rwandan President Paul Kagame, all of whom were present at the meeting venue in Arusha.
“The Heads of State regret the inconveniences caused to the distingushed delegates and guests,” said Dr. Kivejinja.
The Summit meeting was preceded by the 38th Meeting of the Council of Ministers which was also not attended by the Republic of Burundi.
Among the items which were on the Provisional Agenda of the 20th Summit of the EAC Heads of State were: the status of ratification of various protocols; the status of resolution of long outstanding non-tariff barriers, and; the progress report on the adoption of Political Confederation as a Transitional Model to the East African Political Federation.
Other items on the Agenda were: the roadmap for the accelerated integration of the Republic of South Sudan into the EAC, and; the verification exercise for the admission of the Republic of Somalia into the Community.
The Summit was also to consider reports on modalities for the promotion of Motor Vehicle Assembly in East Africa aimed at reducing importation of used vehicles into the Community, and; the review of the textile and leather sector with a view to developing a strong and competitive domestic sector that gives consumers better choice than imported textile and footwear.
The Summit was also to review a progress report by the Council of Ministers on the Summit Directive on having two (2) Deputy Secretaries General at the Community recruited competitively on a rotational basis among the Partner States.
The Summit had been expected to assent to various Bills passed by the East Legislative Assembly, namely: the EAC Polythen Materials Control Bill, 2016; the Administration of the East African Court of Justice Bill, 2018; the EAC Monetary Institute Bill, 2018, and; the EAC Customs Management (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified
Posted in Press Release
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 27th November, 2018: The Secretary General of the EAC, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, on Monday held bilateral talks with a French government delegation led by the country’s Ambassador to Tanzania, H.E. Frédéric Clavier.
A French delegation was in Arusha on to discuss concrete priority areas at the EAC that could be supported by France through the French Development Agency (AFD). The EAC Secretariat initiated discussions with AFD in April 2018 to look into the possibilities of the latter supporting EAC priority projects in different sectors.
The visit by the French delegation was a follow-up to the French Development Agency (AFD) is a public development bank that works under the Ministry of Finance and Foreign Affairs and is fully owned by the French Government.
In April 2018, the Secretary General initiated discussions with the AFD on supporting EAC priority projects in different sectors. The EAC Secretariat presented a number of priority areas for consideration and the meeting agreed on coming up with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between EAC and AFD to support EAC priority areas including feasibility studies and implementation of projects in the sectors of infrastructure and Energy; Support to the regional framework of Public and Private Sector Partnership; Harmonization of standards, and Customs interconnectivity.
The French delegation reiterated commitment to bring the French expertise on board to build high quality system that will interlink with Private Sector Development in the EAC Region.
The French Ambassador was accompanied by the Head of Regional Economic Department for East Africa and the Indian Ocean, Mr Benoit Gauthier, and the AFD Regional Director, Mr. Christian Yoka.
Speaking at the meeting, the EAC Secretary General, Amb. Mfumukeko, expressed his appreciation for the visit by the team AFD, which was a follow-up of his visit to the AFD in April 2018.
On his part, the Head of the French delegation, Frédéric Clavier said that France is very much committed to support the EAC integration as they do for other Regional Economic Communities like ECOWAS.
Amb. Clavier said that France was keen on supporting initiatives that will promote peace, political stability and political integration. He proposed that the cooperation between France and EAC cooperation should focus on resolving challenges such as job creation through Support to the Private Sector. Other areas of interest include the environment, sustainable agriculture, sustainable cities, transport, and water management.
Mr Benoit Gauthier, Head of Regional Economic Department for East Africa and the Indian Ocean, on his part noted that France and Germany are the main investors in the EAC region because of the EAC integrated market. He emphasized the need to remove the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTB) and re-affirmed France’s commitment to supporting the resolution of NTBs.
Mr. Yoka, AFD Regional Director provided a brief on the AFD and its investments, adding that the agency works in 100 countries with 85 offices.
Mr. Yoka disclosed that during the last financial year, AFD invested 10 billion Euro out of which 50% was invested in Africa. The main areas of investment currently are in Energy, Water Manager, Education, and TVET. AFD has invested in the EAC Partner States (at bilateral level) to the tune of 4.5 billion mainly in Kenya with investments of 2.3 billion Euros. These investments are mainly in energy interconnection and water management.
He said that AFD is planning to diversify its operations to include a number of regional projects with the EAC.
