The First Instance Division on Friday 3rd February 2017, will deliver a judgement in the case filed by Hon. Margaret Nantongo Zziwa versus the Secretary General of the East African Community. Hon. Zziwa’s case alleges that the process of her removal from the Office of EALA Speaker was illegal and an infringement of Articles 53 and 56 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.
Hon. Zziwa was the then elected Speaker of the EALA, after her impeachment, the Assembly elected Hon. Daniel Kidega as the Speaker for EALA up to date.
The Court heard the court oral evidence from witnesses for both parties’ witnesses (the Applicant and Respondent) from 26th to 29th July 2016. Also court heard oral highlights of written submissions by counsels for the parties on 21st November 2016 that concluded the hearing of the case. The judgement will be delivered by the Honourable Judges of the First Instance Division; these are; Lady Justice Monica Mugenyi (Principal Judge), Justice Isaac Lenaola (Deputy Principal Judge), Dr. Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, Justice Fakihi A. Jundu and Justice Audace Ngiye.
On 15th February, the Appellate Division will also resume sessions which will go up to 28th February 2017. Only four appeals will come up before the Court for scheduling conferences and hearing. All appeals will be brought before the Honourable Judges of the Appellate Division; Dr. Justice Emmanuel Ugirashebuja (President), Justice Liboire Nkurunziza (Vice President), Justice Edward Rutakangwa, Justice Aaron Ringera, and Geoffrey Kiryabwire.
On 28th February the First Instance Division, will again continue with the sessions up to 30th March 2017. A number of cases will come up for hearing, scheduling conferences and delivery of rulings and Judgments. These include; 5 hearings, 4 scheduling conferences, 2 rulings, 1 Judgement and other 2 matters.
The Court seats for a month every quarter due to the ad-hoc nature service of the Judges. Currently the President and the Principal Judge of the court are the only resident Judges in Arusha, other Judges come only when there are sessions or other court business.
All matters will be in open Court 2nd Floor EACJ wing.
The meeting of the East African Community Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) kicked off at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania today.
The SCTIFI meeting which will run from 30th January to 3rd February, 2017 has drawn participants from all EAC Partner States namely Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
The five-day meeting which began with the Session of Senior Officials will also include the Session of the Coordination Committee (comprising Permanent/Principal Secretaries) and culminate with the Session of Ministers.
High on the agenda of the meeting are the consideration of Progress Reports on: the EAC Single Customs Territory; the Development of a Framework for the EAC Customs Bond, and; the Development of the Customs Valuation and Risk Management System.
The meeting will also consider: Proposed EAC Information System for Customs and Trade; Report of Experts on Chapter 15 of the Revised EAC Rules of Origin; Development of Product Identification Bulletins; Progress Report on the Comprehensive Review of the EAC Common External Tariff and EAC Rules of Origin, and; Draft Regulations on Motor Vehicle Assembly within the region.
EALA has enacted two pieces of legislation. The EAC Prohibition of FGM Bill, 2016 and the Administration of the East African Court of Justice Bill, 2016, sailed through as the House adjourned.
The EAC Prohibition of FGM Bill, 2016, moved by Hon Dora Byamukama, is seen as critical in outlawing the cultural practice. The Bill states that the culture of FGM brings with it a number of complications including early child marriage and defilement and health complications that sometimes lead to transmission of HIV and AIDS, death and injuries to those who bear the practice.
The enactment of the Bill was preceded by the adoption of the Report of the Committee on Legal, Rules and Privileges on the Bill. The Report was presented by Hon Martin Ngoga on behalf of the substantive Chair, Hon Peter Mathuki.
The Committee noted in its findings that the practice of Female Genital Mutilation persists in some communities such as the Kadama and Tepeth of Uganda, the Pokot and Mount Elgon Maasai (Sebeny and Kalenjin) of both Kenya and Uganda, the Maasai from Tanzania, as well as the immigrants including the Somali and Ethiopian Communities.
The Committee further observed that the practice of FGM is a cross-border practice which requires co-operation and collaboration of EAC Partner States in order to effectively implement the law and eventually eliminate it.
In its methodology, the Committee reviewed literature relating to FGM on the one side and considered stakeholders’ views from the Consultative meetings on the Bill held during the 3rd Sensitisation program held in the Partner States from 27th October to 7th November, 2016.
The Report was supported by Hon Dr Martin Nduwimana, Hon Susan Nakawuki, Hon Shyrose Bhanji and Hon Tiperu Nusura.While addressing EALA at A Special Sitting on January 17th, 2017, H.E. Yoweri Museveni castigated those who practice FGM terming it as an outdated cultural practice.
The second Bill, the Administration of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) Bill, 2016 also sailed through. The Bill moved by Hon Chris Opoka seeks to operationalize the provisions of the Treaty relating to the EACJ, to strengthen its judicial independence, establish structures of administration and provide for employment and disciplinary control of the Court’s employees and other matters incidental to the Court.
The Legal and Privileges Committee reviewed literature related to the Court and held interactive discussions with the mover and the Registrar of the EACJ, His Worship, Yufnalis Okubo.
The Committee observed that the Bill would strengthen judicial independence of the EAC and promote the separation of powers within the EAC.
Judicial independence is one of the fundamental elements of a successful democracy and cannot be achievable if the independence is undermined.The Council of Ministers did grant financial and administrative autonomy to the Court and the Assembly therefore a Bill of this nature would enable the Court to attain autonomy.
Supporting the Motion were Hon Abubakar Zein and Hon Taslima Twaha.
EALA is calling for the completion of the ratification process of the EAC Peace and Security Protocol and its full implementation including the setting up of the EAC Security Council, the stand-by force, the Panel of the Wise and related institutional capacities and structures.
Consequently, the Assembly is recommending to the EAC Council of Ministers to ensure the operationalization of its (Council of Ministers) previous decisions including re-instating and directing that staff of the East African Community – African Peace and Security Architecture (EAC-APSA) structures are mainstreamed on the EAC Structures and payroll thereof.
The House also further recommends that the EAC Secretary General works closely with the African Union Structures to strengthen the EAC-APSA structures. It calls for the Secretary General to adopt a consultative leadership style and team work guided by principles of good governance within the Community. With that, the operationalization of the East African Parliamentary Institute is deemed to be of absolute necessity. Specifically, work to establish the East African Parliamentary Centre for peace and security as part of the institutional framework under EAPI is also vital.
The Assembly adopted the report of the Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution on the Public hearings on the complaints raised in a motion for the Peace and Security Department at the EAC Secretariat under the African Peace and Security Architecture. The report was presented to the House by Hon Mike Sebalu on behalf of the substantive Chair, Hon Abdullah Mwinyi.
The report follows the adoption of a resolution on August 23rd, 2016, at its 136th Sitting in Arusha that required investigations on allegations of bad governance at the EAC Secretariat with reference inter alia to attempts to terminate the contracts of staff of the EAC APSA Programme. To this effect, the Speaker of EALA referred the matter to the Committee on Regional and Conflict Resolution to investigate the allegations and report back expeditiously to the House.
The EAC-APSA structures according to the Report are part and parcel of the African Union Peace and Security Frameworks, a Standing Organ of the African Union. Essentially, APSA encourages all the eight RECs to have Peace and Security Councils. At the moment only the SADC and ECOWAS blocs have the Peace and Security Councils with the other blocs (EAC included) having the dockets.
According to the report, APSA has a roadmap with three phases (2008-2010 which concentrates efforts on capacity building, phase 2 (2011 – 2013), on operationalization of the pillars and 2016 – 2018).
In June 2016, the Report states, the Secretary General gave instructions to the Director of Human Resources and Administration to terminate the contracts of APSA staff due to lack of funds to sustain their continued employment, the matter of which primarily led to the public hearing.
Hon Sebalu informed the House the Committee served notices to 22 persons comprising of the Chair, Council of Ministers, EAC Secretary General, Executives of the EAC and the affected staff.
The Committee further observed that APSA is an important institutional framework, critical to peace, security and stability in Africa and globally. It therefore stated the decision making of the Secretary General on the matter of termination of APSA staff were not done in accordance with the Rules and regulations of the EAC staff and by extension, the shut-down of the EAC-APSA structures was down without required procedures of termination.
The House was informed some of the aggrieved staff headed to the East African Court of Justice to seek redress in the matter which further complicated the matter for the Counsel to the Community. The Council of Ministers however, intervened and pronounced itself on the matter directing the Secretary General of the Community to rescind the decision and to amicably settle the matter out of Court.
The Committee in its findings reiterated a number of negative impacts premised on the decision to terminate the EAC APSA staff. Such include; immobilizing the Conflict Early Warning system that us design to aid the Community to progressively address situations that can lead to timely intervention to peace and compromising the competencies, nurtured and built over years on matters of peace and security.
During debate, Hon Francois Kalinda reiterated that the procedure of termination of staff was not followed. “The Secretary General needs to recommend to the Council based on the Human Resources Advisory Committee which was not done”
Hon Bernard Mulengani stated that decisions of the Council of Ministers need to be adhered to by the Secretary General who is the Chief Executive of the Community. The Executive should also listen to the advice of the Counsel to the Community who is the legal Advisor of the Community. The legislator demanded to know why the staff of the APSA Programme were yet to be mainstreamed in to the structure of the EAC.
He called for the amendment of the Treaty by the Summit of EAC Heads of State to vet the political appointees.Hon Dora Byamukama termed peace and security as a key component of the Community and such architecture feeds into the continental level. “We must take this aspect very seriously”, she said, adding the handling of the termination was perturbing.
The Council of Ministers need to tell us the action so far taken in terms of ensuring the security of the staff of APSA and the withdrawal of the case. She said funding was important for the Programme and requested to know if the EU funding was sustainable. “At ECOWAS, the APSA Programme is fully funded by the regional bloc. I think it is high time we took up the structure as part of the EAC funding”, she said.
Hon Emmanuel Nengo said liquidity issues continued to hamper the activities of the Community. “I think the exercise we have gone through shall help the Executive to improve work”, he said. The Legislator further said the open source (form of acquiring information) at the Early Warning Systems at the EAC may not be objective at all times and asked for Offices to be opened in each Partner State.
Hon Jean Marie Muhirwa said Peace and security were vital for progress in the region. He said funding and staffing were key to ensure sustenance of the programme. “Funding needs to be secured”, he said.
On his part, Hon Abubakar Zein noted that the Chairperson of Summit on the EAC Heads of State was clear that issues of governance must be upheld while Hon Martin Ngoga said scrutiny was now a way of life in the Community. “We must not allow anyone to act as they wish, otherwise it would disintegrate the Community”, he said.
He said it was necessary for the Assembly to remain objective in line with the Rules and Procedures if it is to be of service to the Community.Hon Angela Kizigha said the Community is rule based in line with Article 6 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC. “The decision by the Secretary General contravened the Rules and regulations of the Community. All decisions taken must be in line with Article 6”, she added.
Hon AbuBakr Ogle stated that Members had taken an Oath to serve the Community and the interests of the bloc should take precedence over all matters. He reiterated the need for the Executive to engage in consultative leadership
“At the moment, there is litigation in the matter pending before the East African Court of Justice and is expected to resume in March 2017” the Counsel to the Community, Hon Dr Anthony Kafumbe said. “I am confident that the matter shall be settled amicably and come to some settlement before then”, he added.
The Secretary General of the EAC, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko, said his action was done in good faith, adding that funding was indeed a challenge for the Community. He said the APSA Project as at April 2016, had a deficit of over USD 300,000 and the Community was indeed giving money to the project at that time.
He said the Executives, heads of Institutions and staff had been consulted during a consultative meeting in May 2016. “Further to that, under staff Rules 37, the Secretary General is advised by a Committee that includes the Deputy Secretary General, the Counsel to the Community and the Directors of Finance and Administration and Human Resources among others” he stated.
He remarked that letters of rescinding their termination were however written on the recommendations of the Council and said the contracts were further renewed in December 2016 until the end of the Financial Year (2016/17).
Others who supported the report were Hon Pierre Celestin Rwigema and Hon Sarah Bonaya.The Chair of the Council of Ministers, Hon Dr Susan A. Kolimba assured the House the Secretariat follows the Rules and Regulations of the Community as laid down. We undertake to assist the Secretary General and the Secretariat in ensuring the rules and regulations are done.
She remarked that the Council was also making follow-up to ensure the remaining two Partner States duly ratify the Peace and Security Protocol.
An EAC Protection of people with albinism Bill, 2016 is in the offing with the House granting its mover, Hon Shyrose Bhanji leave to introduce the Bill.
The object of the Bill is to prohibit the discrimination against people suffering with albinism and to ensure affirmative action in their favour. It also stipulates the sanctions against those who indulge in suffocating the rights of persons with Albinism. The Bill hopes to put in place sanctions including conviction of those who discriminate against albinos.
The object of the Act is to promote dignity and equal opportunities for persons with albinism. The Bill seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination of persons with albinism on grounds of their disability.
“There are people with albinism who are killed in face of negative beliefs and witchcraft. We live in a modern society and such beliefs have no place in the world today”, Such killings should be stopped and are criminal”, Hon Bhanji said. “We must also put in place/propagate for affirmative action for those with albinism”, she added.
Rising in support of the Motion were Hon Mike Sebalu, Hon Maryam Ussi Yahya, Hon Dr James Ndahiro, Hon Patricia Hajabakiga and Hon AbuBakr Ogle. Other Members were Hon Abubakar Zein, Hon Valerie Nyirahabineza and Hon Taslima Twaha.
The regional workshop for rapid Drug quality verification and falsified medicines detection using Global Pharma Health Fund (GPHF) Minilabs concluded on 20th January, 2017 at the School of Health Sciences in Zanzibar.
The 16th to 20th January, 2017 workshop covered training of Partner States Drug Inspectors, Laboratory Analysts and Pharmacists on the use of the Minilab systems and allowed for exchange of experiences among experts from all EAC Partner States except South Sudan. The content of the workshop is drawn from existing guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pharmacopoeias and other compendia as well as the Global Pharma Health Fund’s long-term Minilab project work on the detection of counterfeit medicines using simple pharmaceutical analysis.
The overall objective of the workshop was to train drug Inspectors on how to test basic and vital anti-infective medicines such as anti-microbial, anti-retroviral, anti-malarial, anti-hypertensive and anti-tuberculosis that would be instantly life-threatening when they are contained in spurious quantities or do not meet international best standards.
Addressing the workshop participants during the official handing-over of six minilabs to the Chief Pharmacist in the Zanzibari Ministry of Health, the EAC Director of Productive Sectors, Mr. Jean Baptiste Havugimana, who represented the EAC Deputy Secretary General (Productive and Social Sectors) thanked the German Metrology Institute (PTB) for accepting to supply a total of 20 GPHF minilabs to the National Medicines Regulatory Authorities in Rwanda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar and Burundi. Havugimana also thanked the Zanzibar authorities and the College of Health, Zanzibar for hosting the workshop.
He disclosed that the supply of minilabs and training of EAC Drug Inspectors will yield tangible results to the EAC population who require high quality standards medicines free from counterfeits and falsified products.
“I am proud of this achievement. It is a tangible result which EAC as a whole and Partner States and in particular Medicines Regulatory Authorities need to be proud of. Minilabs will go a long way in helping the Republic of Rwanda, Burundi, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zanzibar in setting up a functioning decentralized market surveillance system that is able to protect EAC citizens, who are the intended beneficiaries, consumers from falsified drugs,” said the Director.
In his remarks, the Chief Pharmacist from the Ministry of Health of Zanzibar, Dr. Habib Ali Shariff, said that the Zanzibar Food and Drug Board is actively participating in regional harmonization initiatives and has already amended their regulations to strengthen medicines regulatory capacity for the betterment of the EAC population.
Dr. Shariff said that circulation of substandard products is a global problem and therefore, it is the responsibility of every Medicines Regulatory Agency to ensure supply of quality medicines to the end users.
The regional workshop on GPHF Minilab funded by German Metrology Institute saw 15 Drug Inspectors from EAC Partner States who participated in the workshop being awarded certificates for completion of the Training of Trainers workshop.
The Deputy Secretary General of the East African Community in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, concluded a working visit to two EAC Institutions, the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO). The Deputy Secretary General also toured the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI).
Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization
As part of the Deputy Secretary General’s familiarization tour of the EAC Institutions based in the Republic of Uganda, on the sidelines of the ongoing 5th Session of the East African Legislative Assembly sitting in Kampala, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo met the management and staff of LVFO, led by the Executive Secretary, Mr. Godfrey Mono.
Mr. Mono briefed the EAC official on the milestones LVFO has undertaken as the specialized institution of the Community with the mandate to manage fisheries and aquaculture for food security and wealth creation within the region.
Hon. Bazivamo commended the staff for the impressive institutional achievements despite the challenges the institution was facing.
In winding up his visit to LVFO, Hon. Bazivamo was taken on a tour of Kamik Fish Factory (Unifood) in Gomba village in Central Division in Jinja Municipality, which was gutted and burnt down by fire on 9th January 2017.
As a specialized and autonomous institution of the EAC, the programmes and activities of the LVFO are in line with the vision and strategy framework for the management of the Lake Victoria Basin developed by the EAC in 2003, and the Protocol for Sustainable Development of Lake Victoria. The operations of the LVFO are also guided by the Administrative Principles embedded in the EAC Treaty especially Article 7 which spells out the principle of subsidiarity whereby decisions are proposed at national level, harmonized and agreed upon at regional level and implemented at national level.
Inter-University Council for East Africa
At the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), Professor Alexandre Lyambabaje, informed the Deputy Secretary General that the Institution’s main mission is to promote strategic and sustainable development of higher education systems and research for supporting East Africa’s socio-economic development and regional integration.
Prof. Lyambabaje said that the demand for higher education in East Africa has been growing tremendously since the last decade with the number of public and private university institutions increasing exponentially. For example, the number of IUCEA member university institutions has grown from 33 in 2000 to 115 at present (2016/7). At the same time, IUCEA had experienced considerable institutional growth within the same period, which has led to expansion in activities.
The Executive Secretary disclosed that IUCEA was continuously setting policy strategies and developing appropriate interventions so as to ensure that it (IUCEA) remains relevant and effective in serving the Community.
Hon. Bazivamo commended Professor Alexandre Lyambabaje and his team at IUCEA for developing a resource mobilization strategy to mitigate financial challenges being faced by the EAC Institution.
Uganda Industrial Research Institute
At the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI), the Deputy Secretary General met and held discussions with the management led by the Executive Director, Prof. Charles Kwesiga. UIRI, among others, engages in applied research and other activities (such as value addition) to steer rapid industrialization in Uganda. The East African Community has recognized the Institute as a Regional Center of Excellence in Research and Development (R&D).
UIRI traces its roots to the East African Federation of the 1970, as a precursor of the then East African Research Services Organization (EARSO), which was headquartered in Nairobi and served as a regional Research and Development institution for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Upon collapse of the East African Federation, the EARSO was disbanded in 1977, and later transformed into the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute. Tanzania followed with establishment of the Tanzania Industrial Research and Development Organization. It was not until 2002 that Uganda fully established and legally sanctioned UIRI.
EALA yesterday granted Members leave of absence to introduce three key Bills. The EAC Youth Council Bill, 2017, the EAC Mining Bill, 2017 and the EAC Cross Border Trade in Professional Services Bill 2016 are set to be introduced to the House.
The EAC Youth Council Bill, 2017 is to be moved by Hon Susan Nakawuki. The Object of the Bill is to provide for the establishment of the EAC Youth Council within the EAC and to provide for its composition, objects and functions, administration finances and all matters incidental.
Members who rose in support of the motion termed the Bill timely in its quest to mainstream youth issues in all EAC development policies and programmes. The Assembly Members said it was necessary to have an institutional framework to have Youth express themselves and also have them gear up to take responsibilities in development in all sectors of the Community.
The EAC Youth Council among other things anticipates provision of unified and integrated system through which the youth may communicate and co-ordinate their ideas, and encourage them (youth) to consolidate their role in development in the economic, social, cultural and educational fields.
Hon Mukasa Mbidde also got the greenlight to introduce the EAC Cross Border Trade in Professional Services Bill, 2016. According to the mover, professionals are allowed to crisscross the region as they render their services in line with the Common Market Protocol. The Bill also takes into cognisance the exceptions with respect to movements, the threshold of the Common Market Protocol with respect to the freedoms and rights, the mutual recognitions in place as well as the Principle of variable geometry.
On his part, Hon Abdullah Mwinyi said Partner States need to harmonise their laws in line with adoption of common approaches as envisaged under Article 120. Hon AbuBakr Ogle however cited a similar Bill brought to the floor of the House by Hon Dora Byamukama. The schedules of the Common Market Protocol in their current format are also not open for all professions but certain aspects/sectors. There is need to attach the list/schedules of Professional services, the Bill seeks to cure/ harmonise across the Partner States”, he said.
At the moment, architectures and engineers are among the professions that have completed their Mutual Recognition Agreements while that of Lawyers is still pending.The House also granted leave to Hon Chris Opoka to move the EAC Mining Bill 2016. The Bill is premised on the EAC Vision 2050 and to operationalize Article 114(2)(c)(iv) of the Treaty which specifically calls for the harmonization of mining regulations to ensure environmentally friendly and sound mining practices. Additionally, the Bill is to give effect to the short term (up to 5 years from the date the vision is adopted).
The Bill is also to provide a transparent and accountable mechanisms for the reporting of mining and mineral related activities in the Community. Ultimately, this Bill is to reduce the differences in the operating environment for the mining industry among the member countries of the region.
Last week, the House also granted leave to Hon Dr Odette Nyiramilimo to introduce the EAC Sexual and Reproductive Health Bill, 2017 which shall provide for matters relating to sexual and reproductive health, to protect children, adolescents and young children from sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation and to provide for assisted reproductive technology and for related matters.
The Assembly pursuant to the provisions of Article 59 (1) of the Treaty and Rule 64 (1) of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly can grant leave for introduction of Private Members.
The Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, over the weekend presided over the Ministerial Session of the 12th Council of Ministers Meeting of the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP).
The Ministerial Session was attended by five Ministers: Dr. Eng. Seleshi Bekele (Minister of Water Irrigation and Electricity, Ethiopia); Eng. Tarek El Molla (Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Egypt); Hon. Dr. Tabitha Boutros (Minister of State for Electricity and Dams, Sudan), Eng. Irene Muloni (Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda), and; Prof. Sospeter Muhongo (Minister for Energy and Minerals, Tanzania), who also chaired the Ministerial Session.
Prof. Sospeter Muhongo, Minister for Energy and Minerals, Tanzania, who also chaired the Ministerial Session while officially opening the Ministerial Session thanked the Ministers for their continued support and commitment to the EAPP project.
In his remarks, EAC Secretary General Amb. Mfumukeko emphasized the importance of the EAPP in contributing to socio-economic growth in East Africa.
“The provision of adequate, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy services is a key priority area in our energy sector for realizing the vision we have for East Africa as well as electricity interconnectivity across borders to promote the broader EAC objective of attracting investment and promoting competitiveness and trade,” he said.
Amb. Liberat urged EAPP to engage with the EAC Secretariat and its Partner States in the formulation of the 10-year Strategic Action Plan which will address the underlying challenges within the energy sector across the region.
EAPP’s main objective is to optimize development of energy resources in the region and to ease the access to electricity power supply to all citizens of the countries in the Eastern Africa Region through the regional power interconnections.
Member countries of the region have actively been implementing power generation and transmission projects. Most of the interconnection projects are now progressing so fast that before 2020 all of EAPP's members, except Libya and Egypt, will be interconnected by power exchange (trade). Libya and Egypt are already connected but the proposed link between Egypt and Sudan is now at feasibility study stage.
Present at the meeting were senior officers from the member countries’ energy sectors, Independent Regulatory Board members and Development Partners including the World Bank, Power Africa, Sweden, African Development Bank, Norway and China.
The participants engaged in discussions around Bilateral Trading Platforms which is part of EAPP’s future prospects. This will make it easier to enter into short term bi-lateral trades between EAPP members and EAPP members and non-EAPP members that they are interconnected with. It also aspires to facilitate the trading of electrical products (energy, capacity, reserves) and transportation (transmission).
Members of the Steering Committee, energy stakeholders and partners present at the meeting also discussed the status of the EAPP Interconnection Code Compliance Program, considered priority areas for mobilization of funds and explored renewable energy resources development and alternative transmission financing modalities.
As part of the milestones EAPP has so far achieved is development of a detailed Process and Principles documents that provides a step by step stakeholder process (simulates regulatory process) and technical guidance. This is to support transmission of firm power sale from Ethiopia to Tanzania (200 MWs) for 20 years.
At the closing session, Prof. Muhongo cited that EAPP was also looking to standardize willing charges among its member states in order to facilitate smooth exchange of power within the region. He also handed the over Chairmanship to Eng. Irene Muloni, Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development who will chair the Council of Ministers for the next year.
EALA is strongly recommending for strict compliance with the EAC Financial Rules and regulations and punitive action taken for those who violate the same in the wake of malpractices in the procurement of the group life insurance for the EAC.
Consequently, the need to enact laws on financial and procurement management is now a necessity. With it, the Secretariat is also required to ensure there is continuous life insurance cover to the Community and should not expose Members of the Assembly and the staff of the Community to risks.
The above are contained in a raft of recommendations in the Report of the Committee on Legal Rules and Privileges on the matter of investigation of Procurement of Group Life Insurance Company for the EAC adopted by the House today. The Assembly has meanwhile resolved that all recommendations be effected and that the Council of Ministers reports back to the House by March 2017.
The investigation arose following a Motion raised by Hon Bernard Mulengani on matters of public importance including among others, allegations of irregularities in the procurement of Group Life Insurance and insurance of Members for the period between the period 1st July 2016 and 30th June 2017.
The Speaker then referred the matter to the Committee on Legal Rules and Privileges for investigation.
The Report was presented to the House yesterday but debate left for this morning following a Motion moved by Hon Mumbi Ngaru under Rule 14 of the Rules of Procedure to allow for the Assembly Members, more time to digest the report.
Presenting the report to the House yesterday, Chairman of the Legal Rules and Privileges, Hon Peter Mathuki stated that 7 Bidders for the Group life Insurance included SunLamp Life Insurance (Tanzania), Alliance Life Insurance (Tanzania), Britam Life Assurance Company (Kenya) and Liberty Life Assurance (Kenya). Others were ICEA Lion Assurance (Kenya), Metropolitan Cannon Assurance (Kenya) and Jubilee Insurance (Kenya).
The Procurement Committee according to the Report reviewed the procurement process and verified it was conducted within the provisions of Regulations and a notice of award of contract to the Britam Life Assurance Company (Kenya) limited for Group life and Personal Accident cover. A lowest evaluated bidder notice was uploaded on the EAC website giving a holding period of 14 days after approval of the selected contractor in accordance with regulation 78 (3) of the Financial Rules and Regulations and no complaints were received. However, later, there was a revocation of notice of award of contract to M/S Britam and extension of contract awarded to M/S Liberty.
According to the Report, the Secretary General appointed a review team comprising of 4 Officers to undertake a review of the procurement process of Group Life insurance, a move the Committee affirmed was irregular and maintained such appointment undermines the independence of the procurement process and stifles the functioning of the Community.
The Committee further observed the whole process of extension of contract was irregular because management did not obtain approvals from the Procurement Committee, extended an expired contract while ignoring legal opinion from the Counsel to the Community.
“Issues of value for money, effective competition, Transparency and Accountability were further disregarded”, the report said in part.
The Committee however further noted the Secretary General informed them the files had since been cleaned and that the negotiations with Britam had proceeded and the contract was already signed and insurance cover duly in place.
The Committee observed new developments in terms of reforms by the Secretary General to include changes of composition of the current Procurement Committee and the appointment of alternative Members to sit in absence of the substantive Members.
At the same time, the Secretary General is making it mandatory for the Procurement Committee to hire or co-opt an expert from inside or outside EAC for any procurement of USD 100,000 and above.
During debate, Hon Bernard Mulengani said the credibility of the Community stood to be eroded if the regulations are flouted and called for sterner measures and further investigations to be carried out. He remarked that it was important to copy international standards such as the UN to the fullest.
The legislator said the Community’s management needed to adhere to principles of governance and to live by example. He said it was vital for the Audit Commission to look into the areas raised on the report.
Hon Martin Ngoga said there were shortcomings in the instruments in place of accountability and this needed to be corrected. He said the exercise was a technical one and it had no intention of targeting any Partner State. “No Partner State condones malpractices in any case”, he said.
Hon Mumbi Ngaru said there was need to give the Executive Office (Secretary General) time to transit smoothly. The Member said, it was vital for the Committee to have dialogue with the Executive and the same made available in the report.
Hon Abubakar Zein said the report was akin to cases of attempted fraud, conspiracy, and serious irregularities. “The management also ignored the legal advise of the Counsel to the Community and in so doing put the Community and those who serve it at risk”, Hon Zein said. The legislator said the monies contributed towards the running of the Community was taken from the publics and there is need to guard the monies. He called for the total break of the matters of impunity. He asked the Council of Ministers to ensure corruption is addressed for the posterity of the Community.
Hon Dr James Ndahiro said the issues contained in the report were largely managerial in nature. He said the Assembly was mandated to flag out issues but without no capacity to fix.
“The role of the Audit Commission is not only to audit financial issues but other glaring issues as well. It is important for the Council of Minsters’ to ensure the Audit Commission ensures the recommendations contained in the report are adhered to.”, Hon Dr Ndahiro said.
Hon Nancy Abisai said integrity was fundamental. She added that violation of rules and regulations need sterner measures to be taken. Hon Mike Sebalu said the Committee had made firm observations but that the recommendations needed to be stronger.
Hon Isabelle Ndahayo called for the external auditors to do more scrutiny on the issue and report back to the House. She called for respect of procedures and authority.
Others who supported the report were Hon Patricia Hajabakiga, Hon Mukasa Mbidde and Hon Leonce Ndarubagiye.
The Secretary General, Hon Amb Liberat Mfumukeko said as the Chief Accounting Officer, he put to halt the procurement process owing to flaws including the lack of quorum and other irregularities. He mentioned that the Internal Audit department had similarly realized a number of flaws in the process.
“I could not endorse the report of the Procurement Committee to give the contract to Britam, but it was necessary to have consultations with the Executives in station to come up with a way forward. We had to be covered and so decided to extend the contract to M/S Liberty (the existing Company) until such time, the final decision is made”, he said.
The Secretary General affirmed that some of the processes had to be re-done and the process was duly followed.
“I want to confirm that the Community is doing a number of things and we need to keep the confidence of stakeholders up”, he added.“As Accounting Officer, I am committed to reforms geared to correcting challenges faced in the Community. Last year for example, we passed the Fiduciary Risk Assessment and the EAC Accounting Department was ISO certified”, he said. “ We have indeed made some progress”, he added.
The Secretary General further appreciated the Assembly and thanked them for their oversight role which enables the Community to improve.
Hon Chair of the Council of Ministers, Dr Susan A. Kolimba, affirmed that the Council of Ministers would take into consideration all the recommendations contained in the report.
