EAC Holds Training of Trainers workshop for Immigration and Labour Officers
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha,22nd June, 2019: The East African Community (EAC) Secretariat Friday concluded a three-day Training of Trainers (TOTs) workshop for Immigration and Labour Officers which was conducted at the Tanzania Regional Immigration Training Academy (TRITA) in Moshi, Tanzania.
The workshop was targeted at enhancing knowledge and skills of the officers with a view to boosting their capacity to implement the EAC Common Market Protocol and other border management related matters.
The specific objectives of the training were to give the the Immigration and Labour Officers opportunities to interact and share experiences on the implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol provisions of Free Movement of Persons and Labour; acquire knowledge and awareness on the operationalisation of EAC One Stop Borders Posts Act, 2016, and; enhance their knowledge of EAC Peace and Security Initiatives and measures to combat transnational crimes.
The ToT workshop further sought to enhance the officers appreciation of the role of border management agencies in facilitating the growth of the Private Sector and Investment Promotion in addition to acquiring knowledge on detecting fraud in travel documents, and security of documents and investigations.
The participants included Immigration and Customs Officers drawn from three border posts namely: Namanga; Holili, Sirare and Labour Officers from the Ministries responsible for Labour in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar as well representatives from the EAC Partner States’ Ministries responsible for EAC Affairs.
In view of budgetary constraints, the training will be arranged in a phased manner and conducted in all Partner States instead of transporting and facilitating participants to TRITA, Moshi, and this new approach, would target more participants, who will later train others in their respective Partner States.
Speaking at the workshop, the EAC Principal Labour and Employment Officer, Mr. Stephen Niyonzima, said that the training of Immigration and Labour Officers was critical in as far as building capacity of the officers is concerned.
Niyonzima added that in the public service officers were transferable while others, retire and therefore, the provision of regular training was necessary to promote efficiency and effectiveness in the management of the free movement of persons and labour in the Community.
He further informed the participants that the Regional Monitoring Group on the implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol, had on several occasions recommended the need to build capacity of border management officials on the implementation of the Common Market Protocol among other EAC protocols.
The scope of the presentations at the training focused on the role of immigration, labour, examination of travel documents, fraud detection, private sector and investment promotion and labour migration and development.
Notes for Editors:
Article 104 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC provides for free movement of goods, persons, labour, services and capital, and right of establishment and right of residence. Articles 7 (1) and 10 (1) of the Common Market Protocol guarantee free movement of persons who are citizens of the other Partner States within their territories and free movement of workers who are citizens of the other Partner States, within their territories.
In October 2014, the first training session of Immigration Officers on EAC Common Market Protocol, ICT & Human Trafficking was conducted at TRITA. The report of the training was considered by the Meeting of Chiefs of Immigration held from 25th to 29th May, 2015. The 22ndSectoral Council of Ministers on EAC Affairs and Planning (SCMEAP) took note of the recommendations made by the Chiefs of Immigration to the effect that future training programs were subsequently tailored to meet specific training needs and topics targeting the relevant cadres of Immigration officers.
The EAC Secretariat later conducted the second capacity building workshop for Immigration Officers on the EAC CMP from 25th to 28th June, 2018 at TRITA. The training report was considered by the Chiefs of Immigration and Directors of Labour held on 15th February 2019 who recommended that, future training should include Labor Officers. The determination of the officers attending these trainings, who will in turn become TOTs, was informed by the decision of the February 2019 Meeting of the Chiefs of Immigration and Directors of Labour.
-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 six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certifie