Posted in Press Release
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, March 5, 2018:
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) resumes its Sitting in Arusha, Tanzania, this week. The Assembly convenes for the Third Meeting of the First Session of the 4th Assembly, which commences today March 5th , 2018 and runs until March 23rd, 2018.
Key items at the Sitting include the debate on the East African Community Oaths Bill, 2017. The Bill anticipates the provision for the taking and administering of Oaths in relation to the specific persons appointed to serve in the Organs or Institutions of the Community or required to take oath before giving evidence at the East African Court of Justice. The Bill moved by the Chair of the Council of Ministers, Rt Hon Dr Ali Kirunda Kivejinja, avers that whereas there are specific persons who are required by the Treaty like in the case of the Judges and Registrars of the East African Court of Justice if in justice matters, or an Act of the Community like in the case of EALA Members, in all other cases, oaths of allegiance are administered and taken in accordance with staff rules and regulations or by practice. The Bill which sailed through the First Reading at the recent Sitting in Kampala (2nd Meeting of the First Session) therefore hopes to cure the lacuna by providing for the administration of an oath as a statute.
In addition, the Report of the EALA on the on-spot assessment (tour) of the Northern and Central Corridors shall also be tabled and debated. The report follows the recent 13-day (February 12th-23rd, 2018) assessment of the institutions, facilities and installations of the EAC programmes in the Partner States undertaken by the Assembly.
At the tour, one team inspected the Northern corridor, commencing in Mombasa port and covering a total of 1,444 Kilometres to Kigali – through Nairobi, and Kampala. Another delegation of Members traversed concurrently, through the Central Corridor, from Dar es Salaam through to Bujumbura and eventually Kigali. Both teams then convened in Kigali, to crystallize the findings and for a wrap-up of the two-week tour.
The tour was initialised to enable Members to appreciate the operations of EAC Institutions and Authorities/Agencies that provide services, and the corresponding gains and challenges of integration. The tour also provided several fora to receive requisite feedback and recommendations from the citizens on their perception of the integration efforts so far.
Upon debate and if adopted, the Assembly shall provide the way forward in recommendations to be forwarded to the EAC Council of Ministers.
The Assembly also anticipates resumption of debate on the Address of the Chairperson of the EAC Summit of Heads of State delivered on January 23rd, 2018 at the Sitting in Kampala, Uganda. Delivering the speech, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni reiterated need for the bloc to go full throttle and to unite the markets for prosperity of the people.
The President remarked the region stood to gain much more as a unified front. He cited the strategic security as key in integration and called on the region to effect better use of the existing common natural resources for its own prosperity citing Lake Victoria as a case in point.
The Sitting is also to be interspersed in Week 1 by rigourous Committee work as well as further induction for Members largely on audited accounts and the EAC Budget processes and framework.
NOTE TO EDITORS ABOUT EALA
The East African Legislative Assembly is the Legislative Organ of the East African Community. Its Membership consists of a total of 62, of whom 54 are elected Members (9 from each Partner State) and eight ex-officio members (the Ministers responsible for EAC Affairs from the Partner States, the Secretary General of the Community and the Counsel to the Community).
The East African Legislative Assembly has legislative functions as well as oversight of all East African Community matters. The enactment of legislation of the Community is effected by means of Bills passed by the Assembly and assented to by the Heads of State, and every Bill that has been duly passed and assented to become an Act of the Community and takes precedent over similar legislations in the Partner States. EALA has to date passed 79 pieces of legislation.
- ENDS -
For more information, please contact:
Bobi Odiko
Senior Public Relations Officer
East African Legislative Assembly
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255-27-2508240
Fax: +255-27-2503103
Cell: +255-787-870945, +254-733-718036
Email: BOdiko [at] eachq.org
Web: www.eala.org
About the East African Legislative Assembly:
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is the Legislative Organ of the Community and has a cardinal function to further EAC objectives, through its Legislative, Representative and Oversight mandate. It was established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.
Posted in Press Release
Busia, February 24th, 2018:
H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya and H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni President of the Republic of Uganda joined by Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, East African Community Secretary General, officially launched the Busia One Stop Border Post (OSBP) located on the Kenya/Uganda border, today.
Construction of the Busia OSBP was carried out with funding of US$11.7million from the United Kingdom through the Department for International Development (DFID) while the systems and other related soft infrastructure equivalent to US$1.2million was funded by Global Affairs, Canada. The OSBP investment includes office buildings, roads and parking yards, cargo verification bays, scanner shed, passenger sheds, targeting booths, warehouse and canopies, ICT networks and hardware, furniture, and institutional support to the border agencies.
The OSBP ensures effective border control mechanisms are in place. It will boost trade by cutting the time taken to clear goods between the two nations, thus contributing to a reduction in transport cost, whilst increasing volumes of transhipment cargo through the Central Corridor. It is expected that time to cross the border will reduce by at least a third.
An OSBP is a “one stop” form of border crossing point jointly managed by adjoining Partner States, where multiple border agencies cooperate and collaborate with each other, and effectively coordinate their activities to maximise their operational efficiency. OSBP arrangement brings together under one roof, all the Government agencies performing border crossing controls procedures, doing away with need for motorised traffic and persons to undergo clearance twice at both sides of the border. This arrangement expedites movement, release and clearance of goods and persons across borders, by streamlining border procedures, automation of the border processes and simplification of trade documents.
Speaking at the event, Uganda president H.E Yoweri Museveni said, “I want to thank the British government who have supported us through TMEA, in the construction of the one stop border post making it easy to cross the borders and to do business with Kenya. Trade is a means that will help us create prosperity for the people. My government is committed to creating wealth and jobs for the people through creation of enabling environment for services, Information Communication Technology, commercial agriculture and industries.”
Addressing the crowd, Kenyan President H.E Uhuru Kenyatta commended TMEA for its support to the government and underscored the importance of the OSBP saying, “This facility is an important link for ease of trade between our two countries. Uganda continues to be an important trading partner for Kenya. Opportunities for increased trade and investment have been created. I am happy to hear that because of this OSBP here in Busia, our revenue authority has been able to collect more revenues, a clear indication of increased trade flows”
EAC SG Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko “Much as the One Stop Border concept may look new to some people, the framers of our integration instruments envisioned the need for these facilities and embedded them in the EAC Customs Union Protocol at the time of its negotiation. The first OSBP operations was at Malaba railway station between Uganda and Kenya over ten years ago. At the same time Customs Departments having realized that multiple examination of goods at our internal borders was wasteful and caused unnecessary costs to business, started joint examination of cargo of which Busia Border was a pioneer. These pilot programs provided a practical justification for upscaling the One Stop Border program in the entire region.”
UKAID has provided over USD 52million to the East African Transit Improvement Programme (EATIP) through TMEA, as a contribution to the World Banks’ East Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Project (EATTFP).
The Head of DFID Kenya, Pete Vowles said, “The UK government is proud to have made such an important contribution to improving regional trade in East Africa through our establishment and leadership of Trade Mark East Africa. By cutting red tape, reforming customs processes and improving roads, ports, and border posts, the UK is supporting the creation of an environment essential for businesses to grow and trade with each other. The completion of the Busia border post marks an important milestone towards our goal of reducing by a third the time to import from the EAC and the rest of the world.”
Over the years, delays in cross border clearance were attributed to duplication of handling procedures on either side of the border, poor institutional arrangement and cargo management systems inadequate physical infrastructures and services and immigration management. The new established OSBP has already addressed some of these challenges. Surveys indicate that since operationalisation of the OSBP early this year, the average time to cross the Busia border has reduced by 84%.
TMEA CEO Frank Matsaert, said, “The completion and operationalisation of the Busia OSBP is a crucial milestone in increasing access to markets and the facilitation of the movement of cargo along the Northern Corridor. When initially investing $12 million with our donors, the United Kingdom and Canada, greater access to markets, increased efficiency that would reduce costs by reducing time and improved infrastructure were just a few of our end goals. Ultimately, our projects in physical infrastructure and automation of key government trade processes like customs, have complemented each other to reduce the cost of doing business and boost trade volumes, increasing both Kenya’s and Uganda’s overall trade competitiveness. Most importantly, they have contributed to governments being businesses being able to expand thus creating jobs.”
TMEA through its donors and in partnership with the East Africa Community has since 2010 to date supported 15 OSBPs in East Africa including South Sudan and has invested about US$117 million in OSBPs and access roads. They are: Kenya and Uganda’s Busia/Busia, Kenya and Uganda’s Malaba/Malaba, Rwanda and Uganda’s Kagitumba/Mirama Hills, Tanzania and Uganda’s Busia border happens to be one of the busiest in East Africa handling transit to and from Great Lakes region of Rwanda, Burundi, DRC and South Sudan. Based on recent TMEA independent Time and Traffic Survey, total weekly traffic count Busia Kenya is 3324 vehicles and 1784 for Busia Uganda. Most importantly, this border handles the largest number of informal cross border traders in the EAC.
Mutukula/Mutukula, Kenya and Tanzania’s Holili/Taveta, South Sudan and Uganda Nimule/Elegu, Burundi and Tanzania’s Kobero/Kabanga and lastly Tunduma on the Tanzanian side.
-Ends-
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
OR
Nelson Karanja,
Ag Communications Director,
TradeMark East Africa
Tel: +254 731 500596;
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
About TradeMark East Africa
TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) is an aid-for-trade organisation that was established with the aim of growing prosperity in East Africa through increased trade. TMEA operates on a not-for-profit basis and is funded by the development agencies of the following countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, UK, and USA. TMEA works closely with East African Community (EAC) institutions, national governments, the private sector and civil society organisations.
TMEA seeks to increase trade by unlocking economic potential through three strategic objectives:
• Increasing physical access to markets;
• Enhancing trade environment; and
• Improving business competitiveness.
Increased trade contributes to stronger economic growth, a reduction in poverty and subsequently greater prosperity.
TMEA has its headquarters in Nairobi with offices in Arusha, Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam, Juba, Kampala and Kigali.
To find out more, please visit the TMEA website at www.trademarkea.com
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 2008:9001 Certified
