The 2nd Edition of the East African Community Arts and Culture Festival (Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki Utamaduni Festival - JAMAFEST) kicked off with fanfare today at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Contingents of cultural workers, artists from all the five Partner States of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda, and the Nairobi public taking part in the JAMAFEST Carnival, which entailed a procession through the streets of Nairobi City.
The carnival was flagged off by Kenya’s Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and The Arts, Mr Patrick Omutia, at the Uhuru Park Dais and snaked through Kenyatta Avenue, Moi Avenue, Haile Selassie, Harambee Avenue, Parliament road, and back to KICC.
Uganda’s Minister of State for Culture and Family Affairs, Hon. Rukia Nakadama and the EAC Deputy Secretary-General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Jesca Eriyo, were among the notable participants who took part in the colourful procession.
His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to officially open the week-long festival tomorrow Tuesday, 4th August, 2015. He will be joined by the EAC Secretary-General, Amb. Dr Richard Sezibera, and the Ministers / Cabinet Secretaries responsible for EAC Affairs, and Sports and Culture from the five Partner States.
The theme of the 2015 festival is “Unleashing the economic potential of cultural and creative industries in the EAC”. The sub-themes are: Showcasing the EAC’s rich cultural heritage; Reflections and appreciation of EAC’s cultural and creative industry; Fusing the old and the current into one as we unravel the way forward; Sensitizing the youth as conveyors of our cultural heritage; and Celebrating our rich cultural heritage as a vehicle for achieving the EAC integration.
To achieve the theme and sub-themes, several live performances, exhibitions, and symposia have been lined. Live performance will include music, dance and movement, poetry, storytelling, drama, and acrobatics, among others. Popular traditional games within the region are on the list such as bao-ajua, kora and wrestling.
In light of economic empowerment, the festival has designated an area within the venue where local and participating artists are showcasing and selling their wares such as jewellery, clothing, curios, paintings, sculptures, and handcrafts. The festival website is: jamafest2015.eac.int.
The International Republican Institute (IRI) has pledged to increase its support for women and the youth within the East African Community so that they can participate more actively in leadership and the democratisation process in their countries.
IRI President Mark Green said that under the Women’s Democracy Network, the institute was seeking to provide assistance to women interested in running for political positions and mobilising communities.
Mr Green said IRI was also working with the youth under a new initiative - Generation Democracy - so that they can constructively participate in governance and democratisation pointing out that in most countries the youth were either helping older leaders to build a better world or fighting those in power.
Mr Green reaffirmed IRI’s commitment to support the nurturing of democracy all over the world, saying the US was keen to share its mistakes with nascent democracies so that the latter don’t repeat the same.
He described the EAC as a vast market which if reinforced by a good transportation network would also revitalise regional trade and open up a gateway to Central Africa which is largely unexploited.
The IRI President was speaking when he paid a courtesy call on the EAC Secretary-General (SG), Amb. Dr Richard Sezibera, at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
In his remarks, Amb. Dr Sezibera thanked IRI for working closely with the EAC and the East African Local Government Association (EALGA) to improve local governance, effectiveness of decentralization policies and their implications in regional integration.
Dr Sezibera said the EAC was actively engaging women and the youth in its programmes and singled out the EAC Youth Platform, the Youth Ambassadors Programme and the Women in Business Programme. He added that the Women in Business Programme was meant to empower women economically by opening doors in business for them and assisting them financially.
He said good governance and democratisation were enshrined in the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC noting that a protocol on good governance was still under negotiation by the Partner States.
Dr Sezibera said significant progress had been recorded in the EAC region with goods beginning to move more freely in addition to the free movement of labour and persons. He disclosed that an East African e-passport was in the offing and could be launched by the end of this year.
The SG said the free movement of labour across the region had to be anchored on the harmonisation of curricula and education systems, adding that an East African Higher Education Area would be launched by the end of the year.
On infrastructure development, the SG said the Community was putting emphasis on railways, energy and ports.
Nigeria’s outgoing High Commissioner to Tanzania, Dr Ishaya Samaila Majambu, today paid a courtesy call on the East African Community Secretary-General (SG), Amb. Dr Richard Sezibera, at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Dr Majambu and Dr Sezibera discussed the increasing opportunities for intra- and inter-regional trade brought about by the establishment of regional economic communities (RECs) in Africa.
Dr Majambu hailed the many achievements made by the five EAC Partner States especially in the area of infrastructure development saying this would spur economic growth in the region, adding that it would be prudent for other RECs to borrow from EAC’s infrastructure development strategy.
The envoy called for increased exchange programmes and study tours between the EAC and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
On his part, Dr Sezibera emphasised the increasing collaboration between the EAC and ECOWAS. Dr Sezibera said the EAC was keen on what ECOWAS has attained in the area of financial integration.
Noting the establishment of a tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA) between the EAC, South African Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Dr Sezibera said he looked forward to the FTA linking up with ECOWAS and other RECs to form an African Continental FTA (CFTA).
The SG said the CFTA would be a turning point in that it would give African countries the opportunity to trade between themselves in addition to the global market.
Amb. Sezibera praised Nigeria and its citizens for their patriotism and national pride saying the West African country had made Africa proud.
“When things go wrong in Africa, we Africans are often quick to berate ourselves. Nigerians outside of Africa introduce themselves as Africans and are always ready to defend the continent,” said the SG.
A platform to connect farmers to grain buyers in the region was launched on 31st July 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya. The platform, dubbed G-Soko, was developed by a Kenyan-based IT firm, Virtual City in partnership with the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) and the Food Trade Eastern and Southern Africa Organization. G-Soko, the on-line trading platform, will now enable smallholder farmers in the East Africa to sell their produce at favourable prices.
Speaking at the launch of the platform, the Secretary-General of the East African Community, Amb. Dr Richard Sezibera commended EAGC for partnering with the Secretariat to implement the EAC Food Security Action Plan, which is the EAC strategy to achieve food security in the region.
The Secretary-General, who was represented by the Director for Productive Sectors, Mr Jean Baptiste Havugimana, also hailed the EAGC for the on-line initiative and pledged “EAC continued support in automating agricultural crops trading systems and processes to reduce commercialisation cost and all related challenges and bridge the gap between farmers, traders and consumers for increased food security in the region”.
Speaking at the same occasion, the Executive Director of EAGC, Mr Gerald Masila disclosed that G-Soko was part of a five-year trade enhancement and promotion programme in the region. He said linking rural food production zones in East Africa to urban consumption centres requires a well-functioning regional market and that by adhering to the system, farmers in the region will, among others, be able to access credit while waiting for prices to increase through pledging the electronic warehouse receipt with the banks and agro-dealers.
The farmers will also benefit from reduced post-harvest losses through access to professional storage, cleaning, drying and will benefit from improved prices discovery since many of them rely on farm-gate prices that deliver cash at lower prices.
As for Millers, G-Soko system guarantees availability of quality stocks; standardised and proven grading thus reducing need to carry out sampling to check quality.
The Director of Agriculture in the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kenya commended the initiative saying, “We have seen very positive changes in the breadth and depth of the EAC integration and this is encouraging as we all hope to reap the benefits of regional integration”.
The G-Soko is now operational in two of the EAC Partner States; Uganda and Kenya, and arrangements are under way to extend the system to Tanzania and Rwanda before the Grains Farmers Summit scheduled to take place in Rwanda in early October 2015.
Present at the G-Soko launch were, among others, government officials from the Republic of Kenya, Development Partners, the Director of Food Trade for East and Southern Africa, Representatives of Farmers Associations and certified grains warehouses from all the Partner States except Burundi.
