EAC Sectoral Council on Transport, Communications and Meteorology currently underway in Dar es Salaam
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 22nd June, 2021: The 17th Meeting of the East African Community Sectoral Council on Transport, Communication and Meteorology (TCM) is currently underway in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The five-day meeting started with the Session of Senior Officials which runs from Monday, 21st to 23rd June, 2021 followed by the Sectoral Coordination Committee that brings together Permanent/Principal and Under Secretaries on Thursday, 24th June, 2021. The Sectoral Council bringing together the Ministers/Cabinet Secretaries will be held on Friday, 25th June, 2021.
Among the items on the Agenda of the TCM are the consideration of the programmes and projects in: the Roads Sub-Sector; the Railways Sub-sector; the Civil Aviation Sub-sector; the Maritime and Integrated Corridor Development Sub-sector; the Meteorology Sub-sector, and; the Communications Sub-sector.
Also due for consideration by the meeting are updates on: the Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP); the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA); the Heads of State Retreat on Infrastructure Development and Financing; the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA); the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), and; the Implementation of Agreements and MoUs between EAC and Cooperating Partners.
The meeting will also discuss the status of the East African Civil Aviation Academy (EACAA) – Soroti Flying School and a proposal on an EAC Institution to Coordinate Development Programmes in the Communications Sector.
Speaking during the opening of the Session of Senior Officials, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Eng. Steven Mlote, emphasised the need to reduce communication charges for EAC citizens of region especially the roaming charges.
“In this regard, this meeting will be expected to address the issue of the EAC Roaming Framework that aims to reduce the costs of roaming, with a view to bringing all Partner States on board,” said Eng. Mlote, adding that the harmonisation of broadcast content regulations and the status of implementation of the Postal Development Strategy were also on the meeting’s agenda.
Eng. Mlote disclosed that the 17th TCM was also expected to consider and adopt a 10-year Road Safety Action Plan, which is the product of a directive by the EAC Heads of State, at their retreat on Infrastructure Development and Financing held in February 2018, to the Council to put in place measures to reduce the high road accident fatalities in the region.
“The action plan, which was developed by the Secretariat with support from JICA, contains measures which if implemented will reduce the number of road accidents. Already, the Secretariat has commenced the preparation of guidelines on Road Side Stations, which will be an integral component in all highway designs,” said the DSG.
On the Railways sub-sector, the DSG hailed Kenya and Tanzania for developing the SGR programmes, adding that the Community looked forward to a balancing of cargo haulage in the region between the different transport modes.
For more information, please contact:
Simon Peter Owaka
Senior Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 768 552087
Email: sowaka [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: 2015 Certified