East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 9th June, 2021: The second phase of the EAC Regional Network of Public Health Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases Project will be launched on 11th June, 2021 at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Funded by the Federal Government of Germany through the German Development Bank (KfW), the three year second phase of the project is set to further strengthen the capacities of the EAC Partner States to respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases, including bacterial diseases and cross-border epidemics.
…Pledges to push for ratification of Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement
East African Community, Dar es Salaam, 9th June, 2021: The Secretary General of the East African Community, Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki has taken over from SADC Executive Secretary, Dr. Stergomena Tax, the Chairmanship of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Task Force (TTF) for the next one year.
Making his remarks during the hand-over ceremony held virtually, Dr. Mathuki commended Dr. Tax for her exemplary leadership over the past year. He specifically noted the commitment and dedication exhibited by Dr. Tax especially when the implementation of agreed activities was impeded by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Mathuki pledged to ensure continued collaboration amongst the RECs for their mutual benefit, particularly in enabling the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) enter into force by championing Member/Partner States who have not ratified the TFTA Agreement to do so in the near future.
“The signing and ratification of the TFTA Agreement is critical as it will pave way for the successful implementation of our programme,” noted Dr. Mathuki.
The Secretary General underscored the importance of the TFTA in improving the economic and social welfare of the citizens of the COMESA-EAC-SADC region through the promotion of regional economic growth by creating an enabling environment for regional trade.
So far, 22 COMESA-EAC-SADC Member/Partner States have signed the TFTA Agreement while 10 Member/Partner States have ratified the Agreement. Article 39(3) of the TFTA Agreement provides for the agreement to enter into force upon ratification by 14 Member/Partner States.
In the EAC, the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have ratified the TFTA Agreement. The United Republic of Tanzania is at advanced stages of the ratification process, while the Republic of South Sudan is yet to sign the Agreement.
For more information, please contact:
Simon Peter Owaka Senior Public Relations Officer Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 768 552087 Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
…As Secretariat seeks strengthen cooperation with EU
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 9th June, 2021: The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Hon. Dr. Peter Mathuki has appealed to the European Union (EU) member states to lift sanctions against the Republic of Burundi, noting that the country had opened a new page and was ready to move forward.
Dr. Mathuki said that the EU sanctions on the East African were hurting not only Burundians but the people of the entire region.
“I appeal to the EU that we work together and open a new page for the betterment of the people of the Republic of Burundi,” said Dr. Mathuki.
East African Court of Justice, 6th June, 2021; The President of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), Justice Nestor Kayobera, has appealed to fellow judges and staff of the Court to work as team and with respect for one another to enable the court deliver on its mandate.
Justice Kayobera commended his counterparts in the other EAC Organs, namely EAC Secretary General Hon. Dr. Peter Mathuki and East African Legislative Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Ngoga the Speaker the East African Legislative Assembly where the President takes part as the Head of the Court.
“We have decided to work together for example the recent visits to the Heads of State starting with President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of the Republic of Uganda, President Salva Kiir of the Republic of South Sudan and to President Evariste Ndayishimiye of the Republic of Burundi) His Lordship said. He also added that soon they will visit the President of Tanzania, Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since it has applied to join the EAC.
Justice Kayobera was speaking during a four-day mid-term review workshop for the EACJ Strategic Plan 2018-2023 including the achievements, challenges and new developments in the implementing the Strategic Plan.
On his part, Dr. Kennedy Ogollah, a don at the Nairobi University School of Business who is facilitated the workshop commended the Court for the work it has done so far in implementing the Strategic Plan since it was unveiled in 2018. He encouraged everyone to always focus on achieving the vision and mission of the Court.
Some of the key achievements made by EACJ in the implementation of the plan so far include: improved EACJ participation in the amendment of the Treaty to improved the design of the Court; improved understanding on the role and place of the Court in the EAC integration agenda among the Policy makers through their engagements with the heads of the Court on the issue of appreciation of the Court; improved visibility of the Court by an increase in the cases filed during Covid-19 pandemic; raised resources from the Partnership and other Development Partners to support and fund the activities of the Court and Improved digital performance of the Court through conducting online Courts session, e-filing and transcribing processes especially during covid-19 outbreak the court has continued with its operations efficiently and effectively.
Key challenges undermining the implementation of the strategic plan were identifies as: the ad-hoc nature of service for the Judges which contributes to delay in hearing and determination of cases; lack of permanent services of the Judges; delays in determining permanent seat of the Court and the Sub-registries to end the transitional status of the Court; inadequate financial resources, budgetary allocation and delay in disbursement of funds by Partner States which affect the operations of the Court; low visibility on the Court’s role, mandate, jurisdiction & procedures still hinders access to court by the users; delay in amending the Treaty to increase Judges especially in the Appellate Division, and; lack of Administrative and Financial autonomy of the court.
The workshop further came up with recommendations towards mitigation of the challenges such as continuous engagements with relevant Policy organs and Partner States to support the Court and fast track the Treaty amendment process to increase the Judges, determine permanent service of the judges, finalize review and approval of the Administrative & Financial Autonomy of the court and increase budget allocation on the Court’s activities as well establishing alternative funding mechanism through resource mobilization.
In attendance were the Judges and Staff of the Court and the Planning Expert, Mr. Maurice Danje, from EAC Secretariat.
For more information please contact:
Yufnalis Okubo Registrar East African Court of Justice Arusha, Tanzania Tel: 255-27-2162149 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
About the East African Court of Justice
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ or ‘the Court’), is one of the organs of the East African Community established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. Established in November 2001, the Court’s major responsibility is to ensure the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the EAC Treaty.
Arusha is the temporary seat of the Court until the Summit determines its permanent seat. The Court’s sub-registries are located in the respective National Courts in the Partner States.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 6th June, 2021: The 16th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Education, Science and Technology, Culture and Sports (SCESTCS) came to a close in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 4th June, 2021.
The Ministerial Session of the SCESTCS was chaired by Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Education, Prof. George Magoha,
On Education and Training, the Sectoral Council directed that the EAC TVET Harmonization Strategy be finalized by end of June 2021; criteria for administration of EAC Essay Writing Competition be reviewed and that a Regional Forum on Education be held by November 2021 in Rwanda to, among other things, look into the impacts of the COVID 19-Pandemic on the education systems of EAC Partner States.
East African Community, Dodoma, Tanzania 2nd June, 2021: The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo has called on Partner States to increase regional coordination in response to the increasing problems of the Ecosystems.
“We are all aware of the challenges the region is facing including those related to the management of natural resources and the environment”
He disclosed that in response to the increasing challenges to the management of ecosystems, Article 114 of the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community, the EAC Partner States have amongst other things, agreed to adopt common policies and exchange of information on the development, conservation and management of natural resources.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 2nd June, 2021: The 16th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Education, Science and Technology, Culture and Sports (SCESTCS) commenced on 31st May. 2021 in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.
The SCESTCS will consider matters on Education and Training, Culture and Sports and those of the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC), Inter- University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO).
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 2nd June, 2021: The Kenya High Commissioner to Tanzania, H.E. Hon. Dan Kazungu, today paid a courtesy call on the Secretary General of the East African Community, Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki in his office at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The two officials discussed a wide range of issues centred on the EAC regional integration agenda.
The Secretary General reiterated the vital role of the High Commissioners in the Partner States in ensuring the EAC integration agenda is executed smoothly. “I look forward to working closely with the East African High Commissioners in the region to ensure that we are able to swiftly address any matter that requires intervention”, added Dr Mathuki.
On his part, the High Commissioner noted that the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania have renewed their passion for the integration agenda, and have resolved various trade differences. “We can now confidently say that trade matters between Kenya and Tanzania have been resolved, and we are back on track,” added Ambassador Kazungu.
Amb. Kazungu further noted that the two countries were in the processes of aligning various policies that are set to better facilitate integration with particular reference to Education, Science and Technology; Foreign Affairs; Health; Border Management; as well as and people-to-people relations including the Private Sector, Arts, Culture, Wildlife matters and Tourism.
“We are also excited that preparations are underway for a meeting of the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) in the coming months, to address matters of trade and investment between Kenya and Tanzania,” remarked the Kenyan envoy.
In early May this year, the Heads of the two States directed regular meetings of the JCC in an effort to ensure the continued strengthening of relations between the two EAC Partner States. The Heads of State tasked the JCC to address matters affecting the people of Kenya and Tanzania as they do business and interact with each other.
Amb. Kazungu further called upon the Secretary General to ensure the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is admitted to the EAC at the soonest possible, for the greater good of the Community. “With DRC as a member of the Community, we will have connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, and with that the EAC will move beyond imagination,” he added.
In response, Dr. Mathuki informed the envoy that an EAC team with experts from the Partner States has been constituted and is set to embark on a verification mission to the DRC this month. “It is our hope that we shall very soon submit a report of the verification mission to the Summit for consideration by our Heads of State,” added the Secretary General.
For more information, please contact:
Simon Peter Owaka Senior Public Relations Officer Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 768 552087 Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EACREW will also include school competitions, sports and traditional events organised by the local communities.
The EACREW will be facilitated by the support from USAID/KEA Office through Collaborative Conservation and Management of Natural Capital Programme in the EAC.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 1st June, 2021: The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO), a specialized institution of the EAC based in Jinja, Uganda, has unveiled a 10 million euros project that seeks to promote aquaculture (fish farming) in East Africa.
In a speech read on his behalf by the EAC Director General Customs and Trade, Mr. Kenneth Bagamuhunda at the launch of the project in Arusha, EAC Secretary General Hon. Dr. Peter Mathuki, said that the True Fish project was designed to address or remove impediments to growth in aquaculture faced by investors, for instance, lack of technical skilled operators, lack of investment finance and business planning and incomplete networks.
“The second objective of the TrueFish project is to address identified threats which could undermine the sustainability of aquaculture development, or could impact negatively on the environment, food security or livelihoods especially biosecurity risks such as fish diseases and introduction of non-native species that has led to the loss of biodiversity,” said Dr. Mathuki.
The Secretary General singled out some of the challenges facing the fishing industry on Lake Victoria as steadily declining stocks of Nile perch and tilapia, fish diseases, uncontrolled proliferation of fish farms and rising water levels.
On his part, LVFO Executive Secretary Prof. Shigalla Mahongo, disclosed that the European Union Commission was financing the project under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Regional Indicative Programme to the tune of 10,150,000 Euros.
“The EDF contribution is 10 million Euros, while 150,000 Euros is co-financed by potential grant beneficiaries,” said Prof. Mahongo.
Prof. Mahongo said that despite various efforts of the countries around Lake Victoria to ensure sustainability of the traditional fishing methods, demand for fish had increased considerably due to increased population, increased incomes and urbanization.
“Whilst human population in the LVFO Partner States was only 23.5 million in 1954, a reference period when Nile perch was introduced in Lake Victoria, the human population grew seven times by 2018 to 165.5 million. Therefore, the capture fisheries of Nile perch and tilapia are no longer able to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for fish in the region,” said Prof. Mahongo.
The Executive Secretary said that despite global aquaculture production surpassing harvests from capture fisheries for the first time in 2014, fish farming in the EAC region was still at its infant stage, accounting for approximately only 7-8% of fish consumption.
“The overall demand for fish in the region will continue increasing thus developing aquaculture to meet the ever-increasing demand for fish is inevitable,” said the Executive Secretary.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Jose Parajua, a Fisheries Technical Adviser at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) described the negative impact of the introduction of the Nile perch species on Lake Victoria almost six decades ago.
“Obviously, the entire food web in the lake underwent all kinds of changes due to the voracious Nile perch. Many small and colourful fish species disappeared from the lake forever. The Nile tilapia that was also introduced a few decades earlier wiped out some original other tilapia species,” said Mr. Parajua.
“In that dynamic interaction between nature and fisheries LVFO had to make decisions how to assure food security for the riparian populations while at the same time looking after the economic interests of the neighbouring countries through the continuous export of the largest money-maker, the earlier-mentioned Nile perch,” said the FAO expert, adding that the LVFO had done much to address the challenges.
“The LVFO could not stop the influx of numerous additional fishers, fishmongers, fish traders and other fisheries professionals and the overexploitation of the perch became a fact. Also, the Nile tilapia was hit hard by the fishing intensity, but nature came up with a solution as there was suddenly much space for a small fish species, also known as dagaa in Tanzania, mukène in Uganda and omèna in Kenya,” he said.
Mr. Parajua said that Nile perch was very important for the food and nutrition security of the people residing around and far from the lake.
“The dried form of this fish found its way to Burundi, DR Congo, South Sudan and beyond. As the quantities fished were enormous, this species found its way into poultry feed producers and eventually also into fish feed,” he said.
“There was the continuous demand for fish from the lake. If the fisheries could not supply the fish then fish had to be reared outside the lake. Many entrepreneurs started fish farms for Nile tilapia and the African catfish. The climatic conditions in the region are very conducive for fish culture in fishponds, but the region needed more fish,” said Mr. Parajua, adding that this was the genesis of cage farming on the lake.
“Why not grow the fish inside the lake, in floating cages? Once this idea was born and the results appeared encouraging, the numbers of cages started mushrooming. Small square cages initially with volumes of a few cubic metres, followed by larger circular ones, which could contain tens of thousands of fish each,” added the FAO expert.
Mr. Parajua said that the development of cage farming could easily have gone out of hand and that is why it became imperative for LVFO to prepare guidelines for cage culture development and management.
“However, the concerns were too many. Questions were raised about the possible pollution of the lake if leftover fish feed entered the lake. What about fish excrements? Where should the farms be located so that conflicts with capture fisheries could be avoided, particularly in the light of spawning and nursery grounds of other fish species?” he said.
Notes for Editors:
The TRUEFISH project has three major components whose implementation is rather complex as it involves several partners:
Component 1 is on BUSINESS (i.e. improved access to commercial networks). The contracting authority for Component 1 is the EAC but working closely with LVFO.
Component 2 is on SKILLS i.e. availability and quality of local skilled workers in aquaculture-related businesses:
Expected Result: Strengthened commercial networks for competitive aquaculture- related businesses. This component will be implemented by Landell Mills International, which is a Consultancy Firm.
First Expected Result: Upgraded practical training delivery by formal training institutions
Second Expected Result: Strengthened linkages between training institutions, and with aquaculture business operators.
Component 2 will be implemented by the FAO.
Component 3 is on SUSTAINABILITY (i.e. sustainable and bio-secure regional aquaculture production systems):
First Expected Result: Strengthened aquatic animal health conditions
Second Expected Result: Lake Victoria zoning, to support an orderly and sustainable cage culture development. For these two expected results under Component 3, the implementer is also FAO
Third Expected Result: Improved protection of biodiversity. This will be implemented by WorldFish Centre (Formerly ICLARM).
For more information, please contact:
Simon Peter Owaka Senior Public Relations Officer Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 768 552087 Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EACREW will also include school competitions, sports and traditional events organised by the local communities.
The EACREW will be facilitated by the support from USAID/KEA Office through Collaborative Conservation and Management of Natural Capital Programme in the EAC.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 30th May, 2021: The Secretary General of the East African Community, Hon (Dr.) Peter Mathuki, together with the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martin Ngoga, and the Judge President of the East African Court of Justice, Justice Nestor Kayobera paid a courtesy call on the President of of Burundi, His Excellency Évariste Ndayishimiye, at the Presidential Palace, in Gitega, Burundi on Saturday.
During the visit, the Secretary General expressed his gratitude to the President and other members of the EAC Summit for his appointment as the sixth Secretary General of the Community.
