East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 2 October, 2020: As the Partner States in the East African Community (EAC) region ease measures that were established to prevent and respond to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the EAC Secretariat has commenced a training of trainers’ course for staff at 12 One Stop Border Posts between the Partner States.
The training that aims at strengthening the prevention of and response to COVID-19 and other communicable diseases, involves staff from various sectors in line with the One Health approach. The training programme kicked off this week at the Isebania/Sirari border post between Kenya and Tanzania. The training is conducted by AMREF Flying Doctors in close cooperation with the EAC Secretariat.
East African Court of Justice, 30th September 2020: The First Instance Division dismisses a case (Reference No. 6 of 2019 Male H Mabirizi Kiwanuka vs. The Attorney General of Uganda) challenging the government over the decision of the Supreme Court of Uganda that upheld the enactment of Constitutional (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2018.
He contested the legality of a host of actions, directives and decisions of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the Government of the Republic of Uganda (‘the Respondent State’) for their role in the conceptualization, processing and validation of Uganda's Constitutional (Amendment) Act of 2018.
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: 1 October, 2020:The East African Legislative Assembly late yesterday approved the EAC Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2020/21, amounting to USD 104,063,020, after a day-long debate via virtual conference. In the same vein, the House passed the EAC Appropriation Bill, 2020, with the said amendments, over the budget estimates of USD 97,669,708, presented last week by the Chair, Council of Ministers, Hon Nshuti Manasseh.
Under the vote, the EAC Secretariat is to receive USD 48,418,301, while the East African Legislative Assembly gets USD 23,067,137. The East African Court of Justice is expected to benefit from the kitty, earning USD 4,198,406, while USD 8,380,057 is earmarked for the Lake Victoria Basin Commission. The Assembly further approved USD 1,536,751 for the activities of the East African Science and Technology Commission, and USD 1,399,318 for the activities of the East African Kiswahili Commission.
East African Court of Justice, 1st October , 2020: The First Instance Division upheld preliminary objections raised by the Attorney General of Tanzania (Respondent) and dismissed Reference No.9 of 2016 Rashid Salim Adiy & Others vs The Attorney General of the United Republic of Tanzania & 2 Others.
The matter was filed by the Citizens of Zanzibar claiming inter alia that the purported unification of the Republic of Tanganyika and the Peoples Republic of Zanzibar to form a United Republic of Tanzania is a nullity. The Applicants were seeking Court’s declarations among others, that the purported Article of the Union allegedly signed on the 22nd April, 1964 between the Republic of Tanganyika and the Peoples Republic of Zanzibar is non-existent.
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: September 30th, 2020: The new Minister for East African Community Affairs, Youth, Culture and Sports, Republic of Burundi, Hon Amb Nibigira Ezechiel, this morning, virtually, took Oath of Allegiance, as an Ex-Officio Member of the Assembly.
Hon Nibigira was sworn in to the House virtually before the Speaker and Members of EALA in line with the Rule 5 of the Rules and Procedures of the Assembly. The Rule 5(4) of the Rules of Procedure says in part that: “No Member can sit or participate in the proceedings of the House until the Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance to the Treaty is taken”.
East African Court of Justice, 28 September 2020: The First Instance Division dismissed a matter challenging the Inter-University Council for East Africa over recruitment. Reference No. 13 of 2017 Prof. Elias Bizuru vs. The Inter-University Council for East Africa, the Applicant who is a Burundi citizen alleged that the Respondent lacked transparency in its decision of not selecting him for the position of Chief Research and Innovation Coordination Officer after the interviews recommended him as the best candidate to be appointed, was an infringement of Article 6 (d) of the Treaty and sought its nullification and costs associated to the Reference.
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: 25 September, 2020:The EAC has presented to the East African Legislative Assembly, the long-awaited Budget estimates for the Financial Year 2020/2021, totaling $97,669,708, at a sitting held via virtual conference. The Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers and State Minister for EAC, Republic of Rwanda, Hon Prof Nshuti Manasseh, presented the EAC Budget Speech this afternoon as the budget session got underway.
The 2020/2021 Budget is themed: “Stimulating the economy to safeguard livelihoods, jobs, businesses and industrial recovery.” According to the Chair of Council of Ministers, the Budget estimates are presented at a time when EAC region as well as the globe is still reeling from the effects (and after-effects) of the Covid 19 pandemic, leading to lockdowns and a slowdown in economic activities. “The impact of the Pandemic on EAC Partner States, though not yet assessed fully, is no doubt surmounting”, the Minister said. He reiterated the EAC Budget would complement the efforts of Partner States and development partners to spur economic recovery arising from the Covid19 disruptions.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 25th September, 2020: On September 22nd, the EAC Secretariat, together with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the Africa Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) successfully convened its Second High-level Forum which disseminated to stakeholders the 2nd Biennial Review report on the implementation of the June 2014 AU Heads of State and Government Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for shared prosperity and Improved Livelihoods.
Under the leadership of the African Union Commission (AUC) and the NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency (NPCA), the Inaugural Biennial Review report was launched in January 2018 during the AU General Assembly, and the EAC was the first Regional Economic Community to convene a high-level forum to discuss outcomes of the Inaugural Biennial Review report. This tremendous achievement is in line with efforts aimed at increasing awareness and advocacy momentum behind the CAADP Agenda for increased political, policy and financial commitment.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 25 September 2020: The East African Community (EAC) joins the rest of the world in celebrating the World Tourism Day, celebrated on the 27th of September every year. Themed “Tourism and Rural Development”, the official 2020 celebration will be held on Monday, 28 September at 15:00 (CEST), in a two-hour virtual session.
Nowhere else in the world is this year’s theme more fitting than the EAC Partner States, as most of the tourism products in the region are mainly nature based and thus found in the rural areas. The EAC region largely depends on national parks and reserves, as well as wildlife conservancies that traverse the entire region.
OFFICE OF THE CHAIRPRERSON OF THE TRIPARTITE TASK FORCE
PRESS STATEMENT
TRIPARTITE SECTORIAL MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AFFAIRS ENDORSES LEGAL INSTRUMENTS FOR TRIPARTITE TRANSPORT AND TRANSIT FACILITATION
“Cross border road transport laws, regulations, standards and systems harmonized from Cape to Cairo”.
Following the consideration and adoption of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Vehicle Load Management Agreement (VLMA), the COMESA-EAC-SADC Multilateral Cross-Border Road Transport Agreement (MCBRTA) and five Road Transport Model Laws and Principles by the 2nd Meeting of the Tripartite Sectorial Ministerial Committee of Infrastructure (TSMCI) that took place in Lusaka, Zambia in October, 2019, the Tripartite Sectorial Ministerial Committee on Legal Affairs (TSMCLA) met on 18th September 2020. The TSMCLA met to legally scrub the following Draft Tripartite Road Transport Legal Instruments:
COMESA-EAC-SADC Multilateral Cross Border Road Transport Agreement;
COMESA-EAC-SADC Vehicle Load Management Model Law;
COMESA-EAC-SADC Cross Border Road Transport Model Law;
COMESA-EAC-SADC Road Traffic Model Law;
Draft COMESA-EAC-SADC Road Traffic and Transport Transgressions Model Law; and
Draft COMESA-EAC-SADC Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road Model Law
The instruments will be presented for consideration for final approval by the Tripartite Ministerial Council that will then recommend the Vehicle Load Management Agreement and the Multilateral Cross-Border Road Transport Agreement for signature, by the Heads of State and Government. The meeting of the Tripartite Council of Ministers is expected to be held before the end of this year (2020).
The COMESA-EAC-SADC Vehicle Load Management Agreement sets out the harmonized regulations and standards and the methodology for calculating overload fees with the purpose to retrieve the additional cost to the infrastructure caused by overloading, as well as the permissible load limits with the view to protect the road pavement as well as to ensure road safety. The Draft Agreement also provides the basis for cooperation between the Member/ Partner States of the Tripartite Free Trade Area regarding vehicle load management, law enforcement, information sharing, as well as mechanisms for dispute resolution.
The COMESA-EAC-SADC Multilateral Cross Border Road Transport Agreement, provides for a Tripartite legal framework for harmonisation of road traffic and transport related aspects, including vehicle registration documents, transport operator registration, vehicle fitness testing, driver training and testing, as well as driving licence categories based on appropriate international standards, including United Nations Standards.
Further, the Draft COMESA-EAC-SADC Multilateral Cross Border Road Transport Agreement provides for a framework for enabling a comprehensive cross border road transportation management system, which is based on quality regulation as opposed to economic regulation. The transport management system is supported by an electronic Tripartite Transport Registers and Information Platform System (TRIPS), which enables the exchange of data between the Member/Partner States, from their own National Transport Information Systems (NTIS) that consist of a number of modules, amongst others a vehicle system, a driver system, an operator system and a transgression system.
The draft instruments were developed through the Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP) of COMESA, EAC and SADC. The joint programme is funded by the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund.
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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.
OFFICE OF THE CHAIRPRERSON OF THE TRIPARTITE TASK FORCE