EAC to collaborate with the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) to enhance the Community’s Science and Technology Strategy

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Amb. Dr Richard Sezibera, Secretary-General of the East African Community (EAC) yesterday paid a courtesy visit to the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST). He was accompanied by Mr Aloysius Chebet, EAC Principal Education Officer and Ms Alice Maro, EAC Communications Expert.

At the occasion, Prof. Burton Mwamila, NM-AIST Vice Chancellor, expressed his gratitude to the Secretary-General for taking time off his busy schedule to visit to the Institution. After his opening remarks, Prof. Mwamila gave an overview presentation on NM-AIST to the EAC delegates, and some 150 attendees comprising of NM-AIST faculty staff members and students.

During his keynote address, Amb. Sezibera commended the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania for investing in the establishment of the Institution.

He further urged leaders of other EAC Partner States to also support NM-AIST, so as to “further develop it into a Regional Hub where brilliant and great minds of East African sons and daughters can experiment and transform their innovative ideas into real solutions and products for the economic transformation of the region and the continent at large”.

Further into his speech, the Secretary-General talked about alarming numbers of science and engineering graduates in Africa, currently standing at 35 scientists and engineers per million inhabitants. He attributes this low figure to the ever-growing brain drain of the well-educated and skilled populations, as well as to the low GDP spending by African governments on Research and Development (R&D). Only three countries in Africa spend one percent of their GDP on R&D: Uganda, Malawi and South Africa.

The Secretary-General was taken on a campus tour of NM-AIST where he visited the laboratory complex to further identify areas of collaboration for the two institutions.

President Kenyatta addresses EALA

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President Uhuru Kenyatta has today addressed EALA, calling on the Assembly to consolidate its work for the furtherance of the integration process. President Kenyatta further said the citizens of the region were yearning to freely move, work and enjoy the tangible benefits of integration.

The President was addressing a Special Sitting of the 2nd Meeting of the 4th Session of the 3rd Assembly which commenced in Nairobi last week.

The President reiterated his commitment and that of his Government to the integration process. “I will begin by repeating my Government’s complete commitment to East African integration. I know that the future of each of us in the region is bound up with the fate of all the rest. Leaders must create the laws, the institutions, and the framework that will help us face that future together. Kenya will play its part in that great task”, President Kenyatta said.

The President further urged stakeholders in the integration dispensation to go the extra mile and create awareness to the citizens of the region. He remarked that citizens of the region needed to be fully aware of the integration process. He said this was a role to be undertaken by both politicians and the ordinary people as well.

“I wish to make a point that we who are convinced of the imperative of integration must communicate it better to our people. Too often, the integration of East Africa is taken to be merely a political matter - a job for politicians, not ordinary people. True, leaders must lead. But we have failed to spark the imaginations of East Africans when it comes to integration”, the President remarked.

The President maintained that the Summit of EAC Heads of State was committed to ensuring the region’s infrastructure is improved for the betterment of their lives. “Some of you will recall that several of my brothers came to the signing and witnessing of agreements for the Standard Gauge Railway, some time ago. Others – perhaps more, given that it was earlier this month – will recall that my brother President Jakaya Kikwete of United Republic of Tanzania visited Kenya to commission the Taveta-Arusha road”, President Kenyatta said.

“These projects are representative of the hard work that has gone into knitting the nations of the community together by road, rail and air”, he added. The President lauded the Assembly for its enhanced performance and challenged them to go the extra mile in realising its mandate.

“A key issue if I may speak directly to the Assembly, Mr Speaker, is on the performance. Your mandate ends soon. In the last few months, under the wise leadership of Speaker Kidega, you have done much: new Bills, reports, and resolutions have flowed at a steady pace. But if I may say so myself, we would all like to see you leave a legacy: a set of measures that will be remembered as long as this Community lasts”, the President said.

On sustainability matters, the President was emphatic that direct funding of the Assembly would strengthen the capacity for EALA to deliver its mandate. “Direct funding would strengthen the capacity of the Community to deliver its mandate. It would also hasten the day of complete integration. Now, there remains the matter of sustainability. It has been proposed that Partner States of the Community show their commitment to your goals by funding you directly”, President Kenyatta said.

“It has my complete support, and I will be happy to consult with you to see it introduced quickly and effectively”, the President added.

The President also gave a nod to the request by the EALA Speaker to change the mode of Assent of Bills from the rotational mode to be a function on the sidelines of the Summit of EAC Heads of States meeting in order to enhance efficiency.

The Head of State further lauded the EAC Secretary-General, Amb. Dr Richard Sezibera for the role played in effective leadership of the Assembly. In his remarks, the Speaker of the EALA, Rt Hon. Daniel F. Kidega noted that East Africans were interested in seeing more tangible benefits of integration.

The Speaker called on the Partner States to ensure its full implementation of the Customs Union and the Common Market Protocols stating that bureaucrats in governments were causing unnecessary red tape in the processes.

“Whereas there is political goodwill and commitment to strengthen integration, citizens in the region continue to demand to see the tangible benefits. Somewhere along the way, there is always some disconnect of some form. As politicians, we sometimes see the technocrats in Government as the persons hindering progress by instigating red tape and unnecessary bureaucracies”, Rt Hon. Speaker said.

He called on government officials to follow procedures in a manner that facilitates rather than encumbers integration. The Speaker called on the Summit of EAC Heads of State to intervene to ensuring the Institutional Review of the EAC is finalized. He lamented that the Institutional Review process was an expensive affair to taxpayers and time consuming.

“This is none other than the Institutional Review which has been on the cards for the last six years and has cost tax payers – an estimated, yet astronomical figure of USD 2 Million! The process has been through a full round in circles much to the detriment of the EAC. On the one side, the Secretariat and other Organs remain under-capacitated and under-funded. On the other side, the EAC is unable to realise its full potential”, Rt Hon. Speaker said.

“I appeal to you and through you to the Summit to intervene in the matter”, he said. He reiterated the need for the mode of Assent to be enhanced by taking opportunity of the EAC Summit of Heads of State. “We are of the view that the region takes advantage of the Summit sittings which can create opportune moment for the Summit Members to exercise their mandate as stipulated under Article 63”, Speaker Kidega said.

The Speaker also called for the full autonomy of the Assembly which he said was necessary to enable it realise its mandate. “At the moment, the Assembly has a semi-autonomous status – the ideal scenario would be full autonomy including the direct funding by Partner States. It is key that we sit down with the Executive in the near future to find a lasting solution to the matter”, he remarked.

The Speaker hailed the progress in Kenya as commendable. He remarked that the country was on the verge of transformation. He commended the Government of Kenya’s new procurement policy of allocating quotas to the youth as laudable.

“With regards to youth empowerment, the Government has supported establishment of over 20,000 youth enterprises, trained over 200,000 entrepreneurs and set aside a programme supplemented by a new policy that ensures allocation of 30 per cent of all Government procurement to enterprises owned by the youth, women and people with disability. Such drive / commitment to see the youth aspire to move out of the poverty bracket is commendable”, Speaker Kidega said.

“Since the Session began, we have successfully debated and enacted the EAC Electronic Transactions Bill, 2014. This is a key Bill which paves way for the growth of e-transactions in the region by enabling the corporate world and the public sector to transact business using the digital means in a safe and secure environment. A key Report on the Goodwill Mission of EALA to the Burundi refugees in Kigoma, Tanzania and Rwanda was also debated and passed. Before we conclude, we hope to pass the EAC Forest Management and Protection Bill 2015 and the EAC Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Bill, 2015 and to pose key questions to the Council of Ministers.”

Moving the vote of thanks, Hon. Martin Ngoga noted that Kenya had progressed following the leadership of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Hon. Ngoga lauded the President for reminding EALA on the obligations. “It is important for us to walk with the people at their pace”, He said. The member further thanked H.E. Margaret Kenyatta for her contributions towards reducing mortality of the young children in the country.

The EALA Sitting ends on Thursday, 15th October 2015.