East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 4th July, 2019: A total of 35 out of 286 projects identified by the East African Community Heads of State as priority infrastructure development projects have been completed and are now operational.
The EAC Heads of State Joint Retreat on Infrastructure and Health Financing and Development held in Kampala, Uganda on 22nd February, 2018, approved a set of 286 priority infrastructure projects in various sectors for joint promotion and coordinated implementation by the Partner States.
East African Court of Justice Arusha 3rd July, 2019: The First Instance Division dismissed a case filed by the government of Burundi challenging the process of electing the Speaker of the 4th East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), which was carried out on 19th December. 2017 without the participation of Members of Parliament from the Republic of Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania.
According to the Court, the case at hand gravitated around EALA’s compliance with the legal regime applicable to the election of Speaker thereof. The Court stated that the bone of contention between the parties was what (if any) was the quorum of the House for purposes of the election of a Speaker. It opined that such matter depicted a question of fact that must be established by cogent evidence.
East African Kiswahili Commission, Zanzibar, 3rd July, 2019: The African Union has partnered with the EAC to set the pace for the recognition and promotion of Kiswahili as a Language of Wider Communication in the whole of Africa. Under The Dar-es-Salaam Framework of Action adopted by the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN), AU’s specialized institution mandated to develop and promote African Languages, and the East African Kiswahili Commission (Kamisheni ya Kiswahili Afrika Mashariki - KAKAMA), an EAC institution charged with harmonization, coordination and promotion of the development and use of Kiswahili for regional integration and sustainable development, the two organizations agreed and committed to work closely and with other organizations on the continent and beyond to achieve the set goal.
Addressing a Consultative Meeting on the Promotion of Kiswahili as a Language of Wider Communication in Africa held on 26th-28th June, 2019 in Dar-es-Salaam, the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Harrisson G. Mwakyembe, challenged participants drawn from across the continent to galvanize the spirit and energy of Pan-Africanism and the need for Africa and persons of African descent to be united.
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: 27 June, 2019:The Assembly has approved the EAC Budget estimates for the Financial Year 2019/20.
The EAC Budget presented to the House last week by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, United Republic of Tanzania, Hon Dr Damas Ndumbaro, amounts to USD111,450,529.
The EAC Budget is to be appropriated as follows: East African Community Secretariat ($53,296,404), East African Legislative Assembly ($18,973,845) and the East African Court of Justice ($4,225,241).
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 27th June 2019: A five-day regional Refresher training workshop to raise awareness of EAC Women Security Officers on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325(UNSCR 1325) is underway at the Beach Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda.
The 25th -29th June workshop is dedicated to increasing knowledge, skills and awareness on the UNSCR 1325 to Security Women Officers with the intention of promoting the role of women in Peace and Security, specifically at policy level so as to build a formidable force of women officers trained on Women Peace and Security
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 27th June 2019: A three-day Competition and Communication Experts Meeting to validate the draft East African Competition Authority (EACA) Outreach and Advocacy Strategy (2019/20 – 2024/25) concluded today in Nairobi, Kenya.
The 26th to 28th June meeting was attended by Competition and Communication Experts from all the Partner States and staff from the EAC Secretariat. The Republic of Rwanda is the current chair of the EAC hence according to the EAC Rules of Procedures, Mr. Louis Uwimana, from Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, chaired the meeting while, Mr. Feisal Ibrahim, from the Competition Authority of Kenya was the Rapporteur.
…dissociates Government/citizens & clears the air over remarks made by Starehe legislator
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: 27 June, 2019: The Government of Kenya has clarified the matter over the recent offensive utterances made by a Member of Parliament of Starehe Constituency in Nairobi.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of East African Community and Regional Development, Hon Adan Mohammed, informed the Sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly this morning that Republic of Kenya was “duly and fully” committed to the EAC integration process.
In addition, Hon Mohammed, while dissociating the Government of the Republic of Kenya from the utterances of the MP, sounded a stern warning to other like-minded leaders in the country and region who may be harboring similar agenda.
…..Promoting the financial inclusion alongside the 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50MAWSP) is a social responsibility for East African Media outlets.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 24th June 2019: The East African Community Secretariat under 50 Million African Women Speak Project (50MAWSP) has been engaging different Media houses in the Republics of Rwanda and Burundi in an effort to gain the media’s support as key Project stakeholders.
The 18th to 21st June 2019 discussions focused on how best to ensure effective media coverage during the 50MAWS platform launch and as well as awareness raising campaign after the launch.The 50MAWS platform, which has been under construction for the last eight months, is expected to be launched by December 2019. The technical development of the platform has been finalized and the Partner States have embarked on populating the platform with information.
…debate on current financial budget continues today
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: 25 June, 2019:The Assembly late yesterday passed a supplementary budget amounting to USD 390,000 for the Financial Year 2018/19.
The Supplementary budget is (to be utilized) for the repair and maintenance of the EAC headquarters in Arusha and to facilitate negotiations with development partners during the financial year ending 30th June 2019.
Out of the said amount, USD 305,000 will support the maintenance of the bloc’s headquarters while the balance (USD 85,000) is to support the negotiations for development partners.With it, the Assembly also passed the EAC Supplementary Appropriation (No 2) Bill, 2019. The passage of the EAC Supplementary Bill was preceded by a report presented to the House by Chairperson of the General Purpose Committee, Hon Abdikadir Aden. The House then dissolved itself in to a Committee to consider the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the Bill before its eventual passage.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 25th June, 2019: The Kingdom of Norway has today accredited its Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Republic of Tanzania, Ms Elisabeth Jacobsen, to also serve as Ambassador to the East African Community.
H.E. Jacobsen, who was accredited at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, said that there was a growing interest and knowledge about the EAC, which she noted was setting the stage for closer cooperation. She said that Norway views the Community as an important partner especially in efforts aimed at ensuring peace and security in the region.
