EAC Secretary General welcomes new Deputy Secretary General to the Secretariat
EAC Secretary General Amb. Libérat Mfumukeko today welcomed the new Deputy Secretary General in charge of Finance and Administration (DSG-F&A), Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Hon. Bazivamo who is from the Republic of Rwanda, was appointed by the EAC Heads of State Summit during their 17th Extra-Ordinary Meeting held at State House, Dar es Salaam on 8th September, 2016.
Amb. Mfumukeko congratulated Hon. Bazivamo on his appointment as DSG-F&A and wished him success in his new duties.
The Secretary General outlined a number of activities before the EAC Secretariat in the next few months as: the development of a roadmap on the EAC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), and; the finalization of the EAC Institutional Review which will determine the Community’s future structures and the monumental changes that will come with the review.
Also present at the meeting were Deputy Secretaries General Dr. Enos Bukuku (Planning and Infrastructure), Mr. Charles Njoroge (Political Federation) and the Counsel to the Community, Dr. Anthony Kafumbe.
Prior to his appointment as DSG, Hon. Bazivamo was a Member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) from Rwanda.
Meanwhile, with Hon Christophe Bazivamo having taken oath as new Deputy Secretary General of the EAC, a vacancy has arisen that shall shortly be filled. Already, the Speaker of the EALA, Rt. Hon. Daniel Fred Kidega has declared the vacancy and written to the Speaker of the Parliament of Rwanda in line with Article 51 (3) (a) of the Treaty for the Establishment for the EAC and the provisions of Section 7(3) (a) and (b) of the EALA Elections Act 2011.
It is now expected that the Parliament of Rwanda shall elect a new Member to replace Hon Bazivamo. The Member is to serve EALA for the rest of the tenure of the Assembly up to June 2017.
The Oath of Allegiance to the Community which was presided over by the Summit of the EAC Heads of State at the recent Summit in Dar es Salaam, was administered by the Registrar of the East Africa Court of Justice, His Worship Yufnalis N. Okubo and in the presence of the Counsel to the Community, Hon Anthony Kafumbe.
With the new appointment, Hon Bazivamo ceased to be a Member of EALA. Hon Bazivamo resigned shortly thereafter in a letter to the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon Daniel Fred Kidega.
“Aware of the fact that in accordance with article 50(d) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, I cannot serve at the same time as Member of Parliament of the East African Legislative Assembly and as Deputy Secretary General of the Community, I hereby submit my resignation as a Member of EALA, to allow me serve fully as Deputy Secretary General of the East African Community”, the letter of resignation reads in part.
Hon Bazivamo was elected to EALA in 2011 to take over from Hon Damien Habumuryemi who was appointed Minister for Education in a Cabinet reshuffle. Rt. Hon Habumuryemi would then be appointed the Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda, a position he served until he was replaced by Rt Hon Anastase Murekezi.
At EALA, Hon Bazivamo was Chairperson of the Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources Committee as at time of his appointment as Deputy Secretary General. He also served as a Member of the Committee on x and was captain of the EALA/EAC Football team, who are the current reigning champions of the Inter-Parliamentary Football Tournament. The new Deputy Secretary General also served as a Commissioner in EALA in 2012-2014.
Hon Bazivamo has served in different Ministerial positions in Rwanda including the Lands, Environment, Forestry, Water and Mines Ministry, that of Local Government and has also served as Minister for Internal Affairs. He is also the current Vice President of the RPF/Inkotanyi, the ruling political organization in Rwanda.
Speaking briefly to EALA Media Office, the former legislator thanked the Speaker and Members of the Assembly for their support and promised to ensure the integration process is strengthened as he takes over a new role at the EAC Secretariat.
Currently, the EAC Secretariat has four Deputy Secretaries General who serve different dockets. The dockets include; Productive and Social Sectors; Planning and Infrastructure; Political Federation and Finance and Administration.
Hon Bazivamo, is an agriculturist by profession. He had his elementary education in the current Rulindo District and joined Secondary School at Lycee de Kigali in 1975.
He joined the National University of Rwanda in 1981 where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agro-engineering. Between 1988 and 1989, he worked as a teacher. He later on pursued his Masters’ Degree in Germany before working with a number of NGOs until 1994 when he served as the Prefect of the (then) Gitarama Prefecture. In 2002 he became a Minister for Local Government.