The five members of the East African Community Ad Hoc Service Commission were sworn in to office at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania today.
The five Commissioners drawn from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi took the Oath of Secrecy and the Oath of Allegiance to the EAC that were administered by the Deputy Registrar of the East African Court of Justice, Ms. Geraldine Umugwaneza, assisted by the Counsel to the Community, Dr. Anthony Kafumbe.
Commissioners Hilda Musubira (Public Service Commission, Uganda), Titus Ndambuki (Public Service Commission, Kenya), Mary Kinyawa (Public Service Management, Tanzania), Olivier Kanamugire (Public Service Commission, Rwanda) and Felix Ndayishimiye (Ministry to the Office of the President Responsible for EAC Affairs, Burundi) were sworn in to office by the EAC Deputy Secretary General (DSG) for Political Affairs, Mr. Charles Njoroge, who represented the Secretary General.
The EAC Ad Hoc Service Commission will among other things oversee the recruitment of staff to the Community. The Commissioners will work on a part time basis.
The Commission whose establishment is informed by a decision of the 30th Meeting of the Council of Ministers will develop and adopt its own guiding principles and rules of procedure.
In his remarks, Mr. Njoroge congratulated the Commissioners on their nomination and swearing in as the first Commissioners to serve the EAC Service Commission.
Mr. Njoroge disclosed that the Commission was established as part of the recommendations of emanating from the EAC Institutional Review Process.
The DSG said that the EAC has been facing various challenges with regard to undertaking staff recruitment in view of the Community's expanded mandate, and the inadequate human resource capacity in its Organs and Institutions.
He added that the challenges were compounded further by an increasing interest in the EAC Staff recruitment process by the Partner States.
He requested the Commissioners to give the required professional guidance to the Community devoid of any partisan interests.
EALA Speaker, Rt Hon Daniel F. Kidega is calling on Governments in the EAC to avail more resources to address existing inequalities in the region, and to enhance equity and inclusivity to spur progress.
The Speaker made the remarks at the launch of the Society for International Development (SID) State of EAC 2016 Report themed: “Consolidating Misery, the Political Economy of Inequalities in East Africa,” in Nairobi this morning. Rt Hon Kidega maintained that it was key for the economic boom been realized to translate in equal measures with income generation and employment opportunities to close the widening gaps between the haves and the have-nots and boost security for the region.
“Ideally, East Africans shall further appreciate benefits of integration when such translate into a shilling more in to their pockets. There are two issues here; one is inclusivity – which essentially refers to how underprivileged East Africans participate in income generation. The second is equity which essentially depicts share and accrual of economic benefits among all”, the Speaker said.
He remarked that delay in implementation of the Common Market Protocol was retrogressing the speed with which the region can progress saying free movement would enhance availability of opportunities and spur productivity.
The Speaker urged Governments to ensure provision of adequate shelter for its citizens.
“Government is today going the extra mile in upgrading slums and an example is found right here, a few kilometers away in the sprawling Kibra area. In Rwanda, Government has partnered with publics to eradicate the Nyakatsi Houses – proving that indeed, it can happen”, Rt Hon Kidega said.
The SID report focuses on nine sectors divided across three sectors, and economic pillar, social pillar and political pillar. The sectors include; agriculture, wages and policy (economic pillar), while the social pillar encompasses education, health, housing and shelter. Under the political pillar, the report takes an incisive look into Justice, security, discrimination and identities.
The Report presented to participants by the Deputy Director at SID, Arthur Muliro, States that the biggest task facing the state of East Africa is perhaps not so much that of pursuing economic growth, at any cost, but that of creating foundations for lasting human development in the region. Thus it states that by reinforcing the livelihoods of each individual citizen, the potential for national and regional growth will be multiplied several times over.
On institutional arrangements, the report depicts that such arrangements to the national levels are skewed in favour of the rich and powerful. “Cosmetic changes and make do adjustments are only delaying an inevitable internal crisis. The time to rethink the structure of power and the economy is now,” a section of the report states.
The report underscores the need to support local markets. It states that despite agriculture been the single largest employer in the region, its contribution to the national GDPs continue to slip further downwards. On matters health, the SID Report states that weak regulation, particularly in rural areas and lack of quality controls have resulted in poor quality health care services been offered to rural residents.
“As a result, it is not unusual to hear of situations in which the healthcare offered has resulted in additional damage to the patients,” the report reads in part. On security, the report states that Governments in the region spent close to 2 Billion dollars but the expenditures seem to count for little in terms of security for citizens of the EAC.
The report proceeds to prescribe eight areas of recourse if the region is to address inequalities. It calls for the address of barriers to trade, enhanced wages and stronger legislation to change the tide.
The Associate Director of SID, Ali Hersi, maintained that the gap of inequalities need to be closed. If inequalities continue to be consolidated, there is a strong possibility that future generations of East Africans will live worse lives than the current generations.
SID is an International think tank founded in 1957 to promote social justice and foster democratic participation in the development process. Through locally driven programmes and activities, SID strengthens collective empowerment, facilitates dialogue and knowledge sharing on people-centred development strategies and promotes policy change towards inclusiveness, equity and sustainability. SID has over 30 Chapters in more than 50 countries. In East Africa, SID publishes the State of EAC Report.
The report shall shortly be available of the EALA Website (www.eala.org) and the SID website (www.sidint.net)
East African Community Partner States have been asked to invest more money in specialized skills of their health workforce.
The EAC Deputy Secretary General (Productive and Social Sectors), Hon. Jesca Eriyo, said increased investment would enable the Partner States to effectively narrow the historical gaps in the health workforce and predictively address future needs.
Hon. Eriyo was addressing delegates from the five Partner States when she officially opened the 1st EAC Regional Meeting on the Operationalization of “The Multi-National EAC Regional Centres of Excellence for Skills and Tertiary Education in Higher Medical and Health Sciences, Treatment and Research Programme” at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The five Centres of Excellence by location in the Partner States are the: EAC Regional Kidney Institute (Kenya); EAC Regional Heart Institute (Tanzania); EAC Regional Cancer Centre (Uganda); EAC Regional Nutritional Sciences Institute (Burundi), and; EAC Regional Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering, eHealth and Health Rehabilitation Sciences (Rwanda).
Hon. Eriyo said the region now needs to quickly and effectively operationalize the various EAC Centres of Excellence to address the existing gaps in human resources for health including: inadequate numbers and quality of faculty; insufficient and low quality teaching, treatment and research infrastructure, equipment and facilities; inadequate incorporation of research evidence into training programmes, and; inadequate number and mix of highly skilled specialists in service delivery points and research.
The EAC officials said the Centres of Excellence provide the Community with an opportunity to better confront the unusual burden of disease being faced by its populations, namely: communicable diseases, nutritional, and maternal and child health complications; rise in incidences of non-communicable diseases, and; the spread in diseases associated with globalization and changing ecosystems, for instance, pandemics.
She said synergy among the Partner States would enable the region to attain the right mix in the numbers and skills of the health workforce.
“Working synergistically as a united region will help us to better harness human resources and capabilities in the Partner States and relevant EAC Organs and Institutions. The Centres will benefit from and contribute towards the ongoing regional efforts to harmonize training, practice and licensing of health professionals as well as other aspects of the EAC Common Market Protocol including the free movement of professionals and services,” said Hon. Eriyo.
Speaking at the forum, Dr. Caroline Jehu-Appiah, Principal Economist at the African Development Bank (AfDB), said the project was a testimony of the Bank’s continuous cooperation with regional economic communities and the Governments of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania in many development sectors including Health, Education and Social Protection.
“The overall objective of the project is to address shortages in highly skilled professionals in biomedical specialties to enhance East Africa’s competitiveness. The project’s Phase 1 will support creation of a network of Centres of Excellence in biomedical sciences and engineering – Nephrology and Urology in Kenya, Oncology in Uganda, Cardiology in Tanzania and Biomedical Engineering and eHealth in Rwanda,” said Dr. Jehu-Appiah.
The AfDB official said the second objective of the project was to support the EAC provide overall project coordination, develop regional protocols, undertake labour market analysis and hold annual fora in the target countries.
“Whereas we are more or less on track with the establishment of the centres of excellence in the four beneficiary countries, we have not moved forward at all with the regional integration component of this project. It is for this reason this project was convened, bringing executing agencies and Project Coordination Units to work out the modalities for the implementation of the regional integration component,” she said.
It was an emotional send-off for the late Hon. Hafsa Mossi at a one-day Special Sitting held in Arusha yesterday with EALA legislators condemning in the strongest terms possible, the despicable, brutal and dastardly murder. With that, the Assembly underscored the need for instituting independent investigations by credible organization(s) to unearth the killers of the late Hon. Mossi, while remaining resolute that peace, security and stability should be immediately restored in Burundi.
The Resolution which condemned the killing of the fallen legislator while paying special tribute to her, was moved by the Chair of the Committee on Legal Rules Privileges, Hon Peter Mathuki, seconded by Hon Dora Byamukama and supported by the entire House.
In the foregoing, the Assembly urged the Summit of EAC Heads of State to ensure the on-going mediation deliberations are taken seriously by all parties.
“The Assembly calls upon the Summit of the East African Community Heads of State to reign in their powers and authority and take such stern measures as to ensure that both sides in Burundi take the ongoing mediation efforts seriously so that peace, security and stability are restored in the said country in shortest time possible”, a section of the Resolution read.
The House was unanimous that the use of political assassinations or murder as a tool to settle political differences was not only myopic, cowardly and despicable but that it had no place in the political dispensation of the modern world of democracy, freedom of expression and association.
In the regard, EALA underscored the need for the Government of Burundi to put in place security measures that ensure safety of lives and property of all people irrespective of their political leanings.
The Resolution notes with deep concern that a spate of targeted murders of political leaders and politically active citizens have been realized on both sides of the political divide since the country plunged into a political crisis resultant from the controversial Presidential elections held in July 2015.
The Resolution further calls upon the EAC Secretariat to monitor, assess and report to this Assembly at its next Plenary Sitting in August, on the safety and security situation in Burundi.
Hon. Hafsa Mossi was gunned down by unknown assailants a week ago in Bujumbura, Burundi. She is survived by three daughters, Nahimana Astona, Nahimana Dada and Semanyenzi Ummu-Aiman.
Hon. Mossi was elected as a Member of EALA in 2012. At time of death, the late Hafsa Mossi was the Chapter Chair of Members of Burundi and Chairperson of the Assembly’s Women’s caucus. Prior to her election, the late Hafsa Mossi, then Minister for EAC Affairs in the Republic of Burundi since 2010, had played a critical role in Burundi’s integration into the EAC.
The late Mossi joined Government in 2007 then as Minister for Information, Communication, Relations with Parliament and Government Spokesperson. She was also a politician and a Member of the CNDD-FDD party in Burundi.
She is a former journalist and national correspondent broadcasting for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Swahili Service, having had stints in Bujumbura and in London.
During debate, the entire House eulogized Hon. Mossi as a peace maker and said her death was a big blow to Burundi, the Assembly and the EAC in totality.
The Minister for EAC, Burundi, Hon Leontine Nzeyimana assured the House the Government of Burundi was investigating the matter and appealed to the Assembly not to isolate the country.
The Speaker of EALA called for the meeting in accordance with Rule 10 (2) of the Rules of Procedure of the House.
The East African Court of Justice, Arusha, Tanzania, 20th July 2016. The First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice will hold an extraordinary session from 25th to 29th July, 2016 to hear oral evidence in a case filed on 10th December 2014 by Hon. Margaret Zziwa against the Secretary General of the East African Community complaining against certain actions and decisions of the East African Legislative Assembly and its Committee on Legal Rules and Privileges which pertained to investigations against her and consequential impeachment motion. Hon. Zziwa was the then elected Speaker of the EALA.
Hearing of the case could not take off in September 2015 because of a preliminary objection raised by the secretary General on grounds that the applicant and her witnesses could not give oral evidence without special leave of the Assembly under section 20(1) of the Privileges Act.
The First Instance Division of the Court by its ruling of 6th November, 2015 overruled the Preliminary objection on ground that it was not open to it to find that the evidence that Honourable Zziwa and her witnesses would adduce would be an affront to Section 20 of the Privileges Act, without first hearing them. The Secretary General being dissatisfied by the said ruling appealed to the Appellate Division of the Court which by its ruling of 27th May, 2016 dismissed the Appeal and found that the First Instance Division did not commit any error of law in arriving at its conclusion.
On 24th June, 2016 the First Instance Division dismissed Hon. Margaret Zziwa’s application to have the Court issue her and her witnesses Witness Summons to attend court and give evidence and/or produce documents. The court held that the applicant and her witnesses had voluntarily chosen to give evidence in support of the case and therefore do not require summons to attend Court.
On whether the Applicant and her witnesses can lawfully be compelled to produce documents within the purview of Section 20 of the EALA (Powers and Privileges) Act 2003 the Court held that even if it could issue summons to voluntary witnesses, the summons cannot be used to circumvent, defeat or act as an appeal or review of the Assembly’s decision made under Section 20 rejecting her application to have the witnesses testify and produce certain documents. The court refused to grant the applicant’s request.
The Court fixed the matter for four days hearing of oral evidence from 26th to 29th July 2016. The Applicant is expected to give evidence herself and call five witnesses while the Secretary General is expected to call five witnesses.
The East African Legislative Assembly holds a Special Sitting in Arusha on Thursday, July 21, 2016 in honour of Hon. Hafsa Mossi.
The Speaker of EALA called for the meeting in accordance with Rule 10 (2) of the Rules of Procedure of the House.
EALA communicated the notice of the Special Sitting via a dispatch from the Clerk, Kenneth Madete.
The late Hon. Hafsa Mossi who was Chair of the Burundi Chapter of EALA and the Assembly’s Women’s Caucus, was shot by unknown assailants on July 13th, 2016 in Eastern Mutanga in Bujumbura.
Hon. Mossi, a former Minister for East African Community Affairs, Burundi, was elected a Member of the East African Legislative Assembly in June 2012. She is also a former producer and journalist with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is pledging Government’s support in various development projects initiated by the Irene Gleeson Foundation in Kitgum District, Northern Uganda. The President has also reiterated Government would continue to ensure peace and security in the region as a pre-requisite for development.
The President’s remarks were contained in a speech delivered on his behalf by the Minister for Public Service, Hon Muruli Mukasa at the Irene Gleeson Foundation Charity Walk held Saturday in Kitgum (IGF).
The President who contributed 10 Million Uganda Shillings to the IGF said Government would address the challenges faced by the instituion. He further called on residents to live moral lives to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS.
EALA Speaker, Rt Hon Daniel F. Kidega, was the Chief Walker at the event, held to raise funds to support over 10,000 pupils with books and pens.
The EALA Speaker said the region had regained peace and thus called for concerted effort to improve the quality of education.
“There is peace now, and we should never return to the old days but let us do everything possible to enable children to get the best in terms of education”, he said. Rt Hon Kidega said there was need to curb corruption, saying those who dipped their fingers into the coffers meant to support public issues were a disgrace.
The EALA Speaker said EALA was concerned about the insecurity challenges especially in the Republic of South Sudan and Burundi and expressed hope that permanent solutions would be arrived at.
Thousands of walkers braved the morning heat to cover a distance of 4.6 kilometres that started at the Kitgum Bus Park and ended at the Bomah Grounds in the centre of the town. The Executive Director of Irene Gleeson Foundation, John Paul Kiffasi, lauded the supporters of his Foundation for the support saying the initiative was bearing fruits.
“Some of the colleagues you see here today were products of the Irene Gleeson Foundation and today they serve in various capacities in Kitgum district and elsewhere. They hold various portfolios in a number of fields including medicine, law and academics,” he said.
“Though Irene Gleeson, the founder of the Foundation is gone, her legacy lives through this children,” he added.
The occasion was attended by Cabinet Ministers and Parliamentarians in the region, well-wishers and supporters from the Northern region and Uganda. Among the companies that contributed to the cause were NBS Television, Movit, Coca-Cola and UMEME.
Irene Gleeson better known as ‘Mama Irene’ in Kitgum, came to Uganda in 1991 and settled in the (then war-torn) district where she offered free education, meals, medication and spiritual nourishment through her Foundation. She succumbed to throat cancer in July 2013 and by the time of her death; she had put up four primary schools, a vocational institute, a community radio and the biggest Church of 1,500 seats within Kitgum and Lamwo districts. The organization last year completed her last project of a women's hospital which is now operating in Kitgum district.
EALA Speaker, Rt Hon. Daniel F. Kidega has reiterated the need for cities and towns in the EAC to embrace the twinning principle to spur best practices in their management, enhance investments, security and cleanliness. At the same time, the Speaker says Partner States should indeed enhance common environmental policies that would sustain the eco-systems of Partner States beyond this current generation.
Rt Hon. Kidega, made the remarks over the weekend at the inaugural Lira Waa (Our Lira) Annual Prayer Breakfast, themed ‘Making Lira City Green and Clean’ held in Lira Municipality, in Uganda.
“In Kigali for example, the Umuganda initiative (Community work) has gone a long way in ensuring cleanliness and this is attributable to good leadership, a thing which must be celebrated”, he said.
“I am happy that a number of cities are today concerned about becoming clean- but the city authorities cannot do it alone without support. Successful collaboration will lead us to achieve what we want; clean, and well planned towns and cities”, he added.
The Speaker offered to be the bridge in assisting the authorities in Lira Municipality to twin with a City of their choice in the Partner States saying it was aimed at exchange of information and comparing notes.
The guest preacher at the function attended by over 100 persons was Bishop Alfred Acur of West Lango Diocese.
Bishop Acur said the church was also committed to ensuring the face of Lira Municipality is changed.
“Planting trees and making the environment clean and pure is good. Trees make life nicer and reduce stress”, he said as citing several verses in the Bible that attach importance to cleanliness.
Speaking at the occasion, the Regional District Commissioner (RDC), Lira, Mwaka Emmanuel, Lutukumoi, the brainchild of the initiative, said the cause would make Lira clean and strengthen its quest for elevation to a city.
“By embracing Lira Waa Campaign, we are showing Government our hunger for a city status. There will be two model streets that we shall all concentrate on to make them clean, painted and with waste bins”, he added.
The campaign seeks to rally people to plant trees, flowers and greens and to create reliable waste management systems which is beneficial to all. Lira Waa (Our Lira) campaign is a model that was developed by the Regional District Commissioner and is a model that seeks to unite the Community to own the district, brand it and be proud of it. It envisages the transformation of the Municipality into one of the cleanest in modern day Uganda, and a destination everyone would want to associate with as it hosts sub-national, national, regional and international events.
Lira Municipality currently hosts an ultra-modern market estimated at UGX 28 Billion and an irrigation scheme, one which the RDC says will turn the municipality into a bread basket for the region. Stakeholders in the campaign include the private sector, civil servants, civil sector organisations and cultural leaders. Corporate companies and the entire Community have also been roped in the initiative.
Under Article 112 of the Treaty for the East African Community, Partner States undertake to develop common environmental management policy that would sustain the eco-systems, prevent, arrest and reverse the effects of environmental degradation.
The Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko has concluded a working visit to the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) in Mauritius, following an invitation by the Secretary General of the Commission, Mr. Jean Claude de l'Estrac. IOC is a regional integration organization that has memberships of Mauritius, Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar, and France.
Apart from visiting IOC, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko seized the opportunity to market EAC to the Mauritius Private Sector stakeholders, including meeting with the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture; Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Enterprise Mauritius; Mauritius Investment Authority; Business Mauritius; and Mauritius Export Association. All the stakeholders met expressed the need to explore investment and business opportunities between Mauritius and the EAC Partner States.
Mauritius exports 400,000 tonnes of sugar annually. The Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture and several other private sector players expressed their readiness to penetrate the EAC market and urged the Secretary General to link them with the East African Business Council (EABC), the private arm of the East African Community, in order to strengthen collaboration in trade, investment and mutual cooperation.
In order to initiate the collaboration, Enterprise Mauritius is set to organize a visit and an Exhibition to the EAC in October 2016 for over 15 key Mauritius Manufacturers. The Mauritius Board of Investment has also invited the Investment Promotion Authorities/Agencies in the EAC Partner States for a Networking Conference from 20th to 21st September 2016 to be held in Mauritius. To cement the collaboration, the Mauritius Private Sector has expressed the need to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the EAC. The Africa Centre of Excellence for Business (ACEB) has pledged to develop an EAC Handbook on Opportunities that will serve as a marketing tool to underpin the collaboration.
A group of seventeen teachers from across the United States of America visited the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) in Zanzibar on Friday, 8th July, 2016. Under the ‘Summer Oman-Zanzibar Curriculum Development Program’ funded by Fulbright-Hays and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, the teachers of different subjects in US primary and secondary schools and universities were at the Commission to get first hand facts about its work. The program provides grants to support overseas projects in training, research, and curriculum development in modern foreign languages and area studies for teachers, students, and faculty engaged in a common endeavor.
In search of Facts on Kiswahili
Led by Prof. Lisa Adeli, the Director of Educational Outreach for the University of Arizona’s Center for Middle Eastern, and Prof. Scott Reese, a historian of Islamic Africa at Northern Arizona University, the teachers were on a one-week academic tour of Zanzibar after visiting Oman. Their Zanzibar visit was part of a series of short-term seminars, curriculum development, group research, and advanced intensive Kiswahili language programs.
The purpose of the visit was for the teachers to be provided with accurate information on Kiswahili, professional development opportunities, and materials that educators can use in their classrooms. Upon return to the US, the teachers are expected to design and develop integrated international studies curriculum into their institution's or school system's general curriculum. The project shall strengthen the capability and performance of American education in Kiswahili language and in area and international studies.
Need for Innovative Reforms and Collaborations
Addressing the teachers, the Executive Secretary of the East African Kiswahili Commission, Prof. Kenneth Simala, said that the East African Kiswahili Commission has a broad mandate of coordinating and promoting the development and use of Kiswahili in East African Partner States and beyond. Focusing specifically on Kiswahili Teacher Education, Prof. Simala explained that the Commission is working with stakeholders in addressing the urgent need for Kiswahili Curriculum Reform, Change and Innovation at all levels of education in the region.
Prof. Simala lauded the teachers for their choice of Kiswahili as their preferred modern language of training, research, and curriculum development. Saying that Kiswahili is the most popular African language of study in the US, the Executive Secretary called for collaboration and partnerships in areas of staff and student exchange programmes, research, publication and dissemination. Singling out the Fulbright-Hays and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center sponsorship of the study tour, Prof. Simala implored the organisers and sponsors to consider `working with the East African Kiswahili Commission in educating a new generation of culturally sensitive and knowledgeable citizens of the United States, Oman and East Africa about the breadth and richness of their cultures. He informed the teachers that the history of Kiswahili is closely interwoven with that of the Middle East, especially Oman.
