East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 7th October, 2019: The East African Community Youth Ambassadors will undertake a multi-stakeholder outreach programme targeting the border districts/communities at Horohoro (Tanzania) and Lunga Lunga (Kenya).The sensitization programme will take place from 9th - 10th October 2019.
The major goal of the programme is to sensitize the youth within the border communities, local leaders and actors as well as border agencies on issues hindering regular cross border movements and threats linked to irregular movements such as smuggling or trafficking.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 4th October, 2019: The EAC convened a 5-day content harmonisation workshop for the three regional economic blocs implementing the 50 Million African Women Speak (50MAWS) project, EAC, EACOWAS and COMESA. The workshop, hosted in Moshi, Tanzania, was convened in preparation for the launch of the 50MAWS Networking Platform planned for November 2019.
Officiating the workshop, EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo commended the collaboration between EAC, ECOWAS, and COMESA, and the commitment bby each party in pushing the agenda of women economic empowerment in the continent.
East African Legislative Assembly; October 4th, 2019: Arusha, Tanzania: The East African Legislative Assembly once again wants the East African Community Council of Ministers to address the dire financial crisis, the regional bloc is in. Critical to the matter is the need for all Partner States to duly remit their financial obligations in a timely manner and fashion. Particularly, the Assembly has recommended that the Council of Ministers should consider invoking Article 143 or 146 to impose sanctions against Partner States that default on payment. Particularly, one Partner State, the Republic of South Sudan is been urged to comply by end of October 2019.
As the matter came under scrutiny, the House commended the Republic of Uganda for honouring its contribution for the Financial Year 2019/20 to the tune on 72% as at October 2nd 2019. EALA urged other Partner States to emulate the Republic of Uganda by complying with regulation 23(5) of EAC Financial Rules and Regulations. Consequently, EALA also wants the Alternative Financing Mechanism finalized and effected and a reconsideration and removal of the zero budget increase ceilings.
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, October 3rd 2019: Despite the significant contribution of the tourism sector in region’s economic growth, provision of employment and poverty reduction, certain overriding challenges that include sector underfunding, insecurity, lack of harmonized policies and laws, among others, need to be speedily addressed, the East African Legislative Assembly has said. A report of the Assembly on the Oversight activity on the Performance of the Tourism Sector in the region, wants the EAC to fastrack the conclusion of the EAC Protocol on Tourism and Wildlife Management, as well as in strengthening a pool of EAC Classification Assessors to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in classification of tourism establishment.
The Assembly is also reiterating creation of a well-coordinated and digitized information exchange hub for the advancement of joint tourist visa mechanism in a bid to attract tourists in the region. Hon Mary Mugyenyi who presented the report to the House further said it was necessary for the Partner States to harmonise their national laws on tourism and related sectors. The EAC Council of Ministers is further urged to follow up with the Republics of Burundi and South Sudan and the United Republic of Tanzania to join the EAC Single Tourist Visa.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 3rd October, 2019: The intra-Global Climate Alliance Plus (GCCA+) Programme on supporting Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Actions in the East African Community has been launched at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The European Union (EU) is providing funding to the tune of 1.6 million Euros for the four-year project which commenced in July 2019 and runs up to June 2023.
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, October 3rd 2019: A report of the Assembly has lamented over the declining forest cover in the EAC region, while calling for remedial measures to address factors hindering on the future sustainability of the Lake Victoria Basin. Consequently, the regional Assembly while adopting the Committee’s report on Oversight activity of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) undertaken in Kisumu, Kenya, wants measures in place to enhance productivity of Lake Victoria, enhance fish stocks and vigorous tree planting campaigns, targeting 20 million trees annually.
Chair of the Committee on Accounts, Dr Ngwaru Maghembe, told an attentive House late yesterday that if remedial measures are not taken, Lake Victoria risks being extinct in the next 123 Years. Hon Dr Maghembe further called for the assent of the EAC Forests Management and Protection Bill, 2015, to put in place, a regulatory framework for conserving and protecting forests across the EAC.
House approves leave to Hon Aden, change aimed at extending removal time of bulk non-containerized goods at port
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: 2nd October, 2019: A proposal to amend the EAC Customs Management Act, 2014, to extend the time for removal of bulk containerized goods from the port(s) of discharge, is in the offing, in a move likely to reduce the cost of doing business in the region. In the regard, the Assembly has granted Hon Abdikadir Omar Aden, leave to introduce a Bill to amend section 34 (5) of the existing Customs Management Act, 2014, to realise the above objective. With it, the Assembly further adopted a motion to amend the Act, when it received support yesterday.
The Motion moved by Hon Aden, Chair of the General Purpose Committee and seconded by Hon Dr Abdullah Makame, was moved under Article 49(1), 59(1) and Rule 26 of the Rules of Procedure of the House.
…decade later, no Committee is in place, continued delay, hampering trade -legislators assert
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, October 1st 2019: The delay of the region to institute the Trade Remedies Committee and amend a critical article of the Protocol of the Customs Union is negatively affecting the business community, prolonging resolution of trade disputes and impacting on intra EAC trade, a report of the regional Assembly has said.
EALA has thus affirmed the need for the Partner States to speedily amend the said Article 24 (2) (a), whose ratification has taken a decade and for the same instrument to be deposited with the Secretary General by February 2020.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 2nd October, 2019: Rice farmers in East Africa are set to benefit from a US$3.1 million dollar grant to a rice sector promotion project which will be implemented over a period of three years.
The Competitive African Rice Initiative in East Africa (CARI-EA), which is being implemented jointly by the East African Community (EAC) and Kilimo Trust (KT) seeks to improve the rice sub-sector in the region.The project was approved for funding by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in April 2019 and is now at the initial stage of implementation.
EAC Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 1st October, 2019: The web site of the EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme was officially launched at a festive event during the EAC High Level Trade Integration Conference held from 25th to 27th September, 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community and Regional Development, Kenya, Dr. Margret Mwakima, and Amb Jean Rigi, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of EAC Affairs, Burundi jointly launched the EAC MARKUP website.
