Posted in Press Release
Speaker of EALA, Rt Hon Daniel F. Kidega yesterday challenged residents of Obongi County, Moyo District in Northern Uganda to take advantage of the integration process and tap in to available opportunities. Addressing residents at the Obongi Day Festivities 2016 at the Obongi Primary School grounds, the Speaker said the evolution of the Common Market agenda would be meaningful for so long as EAC citizens embraced the transformation agenda.
“The transformation agenda must start from oneself,” he said. We must change our individual mindsets initially, if we are to fully embrace and appreciate integration”, he added.
The Speaker who was the chief guest at the occasion anchored on the theme: Connecting Obongi to Arusha through Good Roads, Rail and Internet connections, called on the Obongi inhabitants to enhance productivity by trading in their commodities as a way of fully engaging in the free market.
He informed participants that the EAC was committed to enhancing inter-connectivity by improving infrastructure.
“The EAC road and rail network as well as enhancement in ICTs will play a key role in opening up the region”, the EALA Speaker said.
“It is important for authorities in Obongi to see how to open up the hinterland to the main region would benefit from the inter-connectivity of infrastructure”, he added.
Rt. Hon Kidega hailed the Government for ensuring peace and stability in Northern Uganda and said it was a pre-requisite for development.
The Leader of Official Opposition in Parliament, Hon Winifred Kiiza, called for enhancement of infrastructure and said all regions, devoid of their affiliations, were deserving. “All citizens of Uganda pay taxes and Government of the day must ensure the services are equally distributed”, Hon Kiiza said.
The Minister for Information Communication Technology, Hon Richard Tumwebaze said Government would expand and improve infrastructure for mobile telephony. He said Government would honour the pledges of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on enhancing infrastructure in the area.
He remarked that NRM Government would ensure equal services are rendered to all citizens.
The Minister of State for East African Community Affairs, Hon Julius Wandera Maganda said the location of Moyo district and the West Nile generally was strategic and it would open up the entire region. He pledged to ensure the Ministry for EAC Affairs undertakes sensitization in the area.
The Party Leader of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Major Gen Mugisha Muntu urged the EAC region to ensure peace and security prevails.
“Conflict is costly. We have all seen what is happening in the neighbouring countries of South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is important for us to build strong institutions and adhere to the fully commiting to democracy”, he said. On his part, the Deputy Secretary General of NRM, Richard Todwong rallied the region to stay united so as to ensure progress is realized.
The Member of Parliament of Obongi County and host, Hon Kaps Fungaroo, Hassan said the region needed better infrastructure and appealed to Government to provide the essential services to the people. He challenged Government authorities to rehabilitate and upgrade the Lomuunga Airstrip to enable the aviation industry to link the County to other parts of the country and the region. The legislator also called for faster internet connectivity to the region and installation of electricity for faster development.
A number of activities were held during that climaxed in the celebrations. The activities included key workshops, sporting activities and cultural events.
Posted in Press Release
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) will continue working closely with the East African Community (EAC) to address issues of migration within East Africa.
IOM’s Regional Director for East and the Horn of Africa, Mr. Jeffrey Labovitz, said that the collapse of commodity prices on the world market and inflation had badly affected economies in East Africa and neighbouring countries, adding that this coupled with ongoing conflict would necessitate migration within the region.
Mr. Labovitz said poorly performing economies would mean people having problems in accessing farming implements and inputs which in turn contribute to low agricultural yields.
Mr. Labovitz noted that EAC Partner States had been quite generous and humane in hosting refugees from neighbouring countries riven with conflict. The IOM official singled out the Ugandan model of refugee management whereby refugees are integrated into local communities and given land to farm rather than being put into refugee camps.
He said the United Republic of Tanzania, which hosts many refugees, was keen on learning from Uganda on how to handle refugees and urged other African countries to follow suit.
Mr. Labovitz was speaking when he paid a courtesy call on the EAC Secretary General, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
In response, Amb. Mfumukeko thanked IOM for its close cooperation with the EAC on matters of migration and refugees, adding that refugees need food, medical assistance and educational facilities for their children.
The Secretary General said that the Ugandan model of integrating refugees into host communities was good because it enabled refugees to stabilize and continue with their lives as they wait for normalcy to return to their countries of origin.
Some of the critical migration challenges facing the EAC include: the free movement of persons and labour; internally displaced persons, and; forced migration. The EAC has been working with IOM to address the free movement of persons and labour and in the collection of migration data.
During the function, Mr. Labovitz was accompanied by the IOM Chief of Mission in Tanzania, Dr. Qasim Sufi and the Head of Programmes at IOM Tanzania, Ms. Tamara Keating. Amb. Mfumukeko was flanked by the Director of Social Sectors, Ms. Mary Makoffu, and the Labour and Employment Officer, Mr. Stephen Niyonzima.