EAC Secretary General Addresses the Media Ahead of the Lake Tanganyika Transport Programme Workshop
The East African Community Bujumbura, Burundi, 1st November, 2017:
The East African Community Secretary General, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko, on Tuesday addressed the Media on the upcoming Lake Tanganyika Transport Programme workshop to be held from 2nd to 3rd November, 2017 in Bujumbura, Burundi.
The Secretary General was accompanied by the Chair of the EAC Council of Ministers and Uganda’s Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Affairs, Rt Hon. Kirunda Kivejinja, the Executive Secretary of Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency, Captain Dieudonne Dukundane, and the Executive Director of Lake Tanganyika Authority, Engineer Nibirantije Jean-Marie.
Speaking at the press conference Amb. Mfumukeko said he was delighted at the take-off of the Lake Tanganyika Transport Programme saying the programme would yield tangible benefits for ordinary East Africans.
“Lake Tanganyika is uniquely placed to provide intermodal linkages between Tripartite Regional Economic blocks of EAC, COMESA and SADC and therefore a critical conduit not only for transport needs but also for wider economic benefits,” said Amb. Mfumukeko.
Amb. Mfumukeko told the press that the World Bank had committed about US$500 million to support the Lake Tanganyika Transport Programme. He however called for more support from other Development Partners by way of project uptakes, co-financing and blending.
The Secretary General said that Investment in infrastructure projects continues to receive the utmost political attention by the EAC Heads of States as expressed during their biennial retreats on infrastructure development and financing.
He said successful implementation of the Lake Tanganyika Transport Programme was expected to result into numerous benefits for the riparian states and the communities around the Lake.
On his part, the EAC Council of Ministers Chairperson, Rt Hon Kirunda Kivejinja, thanked the World Bank for supporting the Integrated Corridor Development initiative in EAC through the Intermodal Strategy.
He assured East Africans that the Community was fully committed to putting in place an integrated transport system with the Lake Tanganyika Transport Programme as part of the system.
“I wish to re-affirm the EAC’s commitment to building an efficient and reliable transport infrastructure that will spur economic growth and development throughout East Africa,” said Hon. Kivejinja.
The Executive Secretary of the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency, Captain Dieudonne Dukundane, emphasized the importance of Lake Tanganyika in providing intermodal linkages between the EAC, COMESA and SADC.
Captain Dukundane said Lake Tanganyika was critical for promoting movement of people and goods within the East African region.
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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.