Press Release

EAC Observers to 2017 Rwanda Presidential Elections flagged off

East African Community Secretariat; Kigali, Rwanda; 31 July 2017:

The Head of the EAC Election Observer Mission (EOM) to the 2017 Rwandan Presidential Election, former Kenyan Vice President Moody Awori, today flagged off 30 Observers who will assess the election in the 30 districts of the country.

Mr. Awori, who flagged off the 10 teams at a Kigali hotel, thanked the people of Rwanda for conducting themselves with maturity in the ongoing election campaigns.

“I trust that you will uphold dignity and peace even on the Election Day and thereafter,” he said.

The former Vice President further said that a transparent and peaceful election will be a plus not just for Rwanda but for the entire EAC region as well.

“The sovereign will of the people expressed through a democratic process is a guarantee for peace, stability and economic growth,” he said, adding that Rwanda had set a good example for the rest of the continent over the past two decades.

“Rwanda is a small country with big ideas but its resilient recovery from a painful past is a remarkable lesson for Africa whose citizens all yearn for peace and development,” he said.

“Your experience shows that with political commitment and sheer determination, there is no limit to humanity’s potential to achieve.”

The EAC has deployed a total of 10 teams of EAC Observers to all Provinces of Rwanda sampling 30 districts to assess the level of preparedness of the elections as well as the polling process.

The Mission will issue a statement of its preliminary findings on the elections on 6th August, 2017 through a press conference with a comprehensive report subsequently being issued by the EAC through its policy organs after the end of the electoral process in Rwanda.

The Rwandan presidential election, which will be held on 4th August, 2017, is will be contested by the incumbent president Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party and journalist Philippe Mpayimana who is running as an independent candidate.

The EOM comprises 30 short-term observers drawn from the East African Legislative Assembly, national Human Rights Commissions, Electoral Management Bodies, Civil Society, EAC Youth Ambassadors and the Staff of the EAC Secretariat.

The Mission arrived in Kigali on 26th July, 2017 and will remain in the country until 7th August, 2017. It was preceded by a team of election experts from the EAC Partner States who arrived on 16th July, 2017.

The Mission will observe the concluding stages of the election campaigns and engage with various stakeholders as well as observe the voting and counting processes on and after 4th August, 2017.


- 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

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 9001: 2008 Certified

The Community mourns Amb. Kiplagat

East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 14 July 2017:

The Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko has conveyed a message of condolence to H.E President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, following the untimely death of Amb. Bethuel Kiplagat, a career diplomat and distinguished public servant.

In a condolence message signed on his behalf by Hon. Jesca Eriyo, the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Finance and Administration, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko states that “We mourn the passing of a great son of Kenya and East Africa and a towering figure of our time who has left an indelible imprint on the history of the region through his untiring efforts in peace building”.

“The Community notes with pride that the departed diplomat was also actively involved in the peace talks and negotiations that led to the independence of the Republic of South Sudan, EAC’s newest Partner State”.

The condolence message states that when the EAC Heads of State Summit approved the establishment and functioning of the EAC Panel of Eminent Persons in February 2015 to operationalize the East African Community Conflict Prevention and Management Resolution Mechanism, Amb. Kiplagat was among the first to be appointed to the Panel.

“The main task of the Panel is to advise the Summit, the Council and Secretary General on issues related to the promotion and maintenance of peace, security and stability by conducting preventive diplomacy and peaceful resolution of conflicts in the Community”, Amb. Mfumukeko notes in his condolence letter.

“Together with other EAC Eminent Persons, Amb. Kiplagat undertook preventive diplomacy missions to Burundi through participation in various roundtables dialogues and holding one on one consultation with key Burundi stakeholders”.

“The entire Community and I share with You, the bereaved family, and the Government and people of Kenya, the feelings of great loss at this time of deep sorrow”, concludes the condolence message.


- 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

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 9001: 2008 Certified

EAC Brand Architecture Design Competition launched in Nairobi, Kenya

East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 30 June 2017:

The Deputy Director of Productive and Services Sector in Kenya’s Ministry of East African Community (EAC), Labour and Social Protection, Mr. Julius Mwabu, has challenged the youth in Kenya and the EAC region as a whole to actively take part in the competition to design the new EAC brand that will stand the test of time.
 
Mwabu, who represented the State Department of EAC (SDEAC) Principal Secretary at the sensitization and launch of the EAC emblem and logos design competition SDEAC Headquarters in Nairobi, said the re-design of the EAC brand architecture was occasioned by the current brand lacking visual connection between the EAC Organs and Institutions, as well as being not adaptable to the expansion of the Community.
 
“EAC is expanding because it is attractive and progressing, the benefits are visible like the Single Customs Territory, a Common Market, a common higher education area, One Stop Border Posts, among other things. These achievements are making our region the envy of the neighboring countries and they want to be part of us and therefore the youth should help the Community to design the brand architecture that will bring out all these developments and stand the test of time,” said Mwabu.
 
He underscored the importance the Community attaches to the youth in re-designing the new look for the Community “because the youth are the future of any activity and entrusting this critical activity in their hands was a decision made by the Council of Ministers, the EAC’s policy making organ.
 
He commended the EAC Secretariat for implementing the Council decision on EAC brand architecture and ensuring that the EAC Emblem and Logos re-design competition was launched in all the six Partner States, namely South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
 
The EAC Secretariat dedicated the month of May/June 2017 for conducting sensitization workshops and launch of the EAC Brand Architecture by involving the youth in all the Partner States. In this regard, sensitization workshops and launch events were held in the University of Juba on 29th – 30th May, 2017 (South Sudan); Ecole Technique des Arts de Gitega, 1st – 2nd June (Burundi); Huye campus, University of Rwanda, 5th to 6th June 2017 (Rwanda); University of Dar es Salaam, 8th to 9th June 2017 (Tanzania); Makerere University, Kampala, 26th – 27th June, 2017 (Uganda).
 
The Nairobi event was the last leg of the EAC Secretariat’s round trip to the Partner States to sensitize and launch the design competition. The Ministries responsible for EAC Affairs will now develop strategies for reaching out to other Universities, Artists, and Creative/Graphic Designers in the Partner States to interest and attract as many entries as possible.


- ENDS -

Notes to Editor: 

Eligibility to participate in the EAC Brand Architecture Competition
 
(i) Youth aged between 18 years and 35 years;
(ii) Organizations (Design companies) formed and owned by youth;
(iii) Citizens from EAC Partner States (Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan; and Kenya;  
(iv) EAC youth living in the diaspora, and;
(v) Participating youth must submit proof of age limit
 
Competition Awards
 
The EAC will award the first three winners of this competition as follows:
 
(i) 1st Prize award USD 25,000;
(ii) 2nd Prize award USD 5,000;
(iii) 3rd Price award USD 2,500;
 
Competition Deliverables
 
The primary deliverables expected from bidders will be the following:
 
(i) One EAC Emblem;
(ii) 11 Logos for the EAC Organs (3) and EAC Institutions (8);
(iii) The EAC Corporate Colour (s);
(iv) Unique Identifier that will be adopted in the Emblem and Logos;
(v) Justification for all proposals submitted, and;
(vi) Brief graphic demonstration of the application of the Emblem and Logos in offline, and digital forms.
 
Technical Presentation and Submission of Concepts
 
The competition period will be held between 1st June 2017 to 31st August 2017. Submission of various design concepts will be allowed as long as they fulfill competition deliverables (as indicated above) for each design.
 
Bidders should submit their creative works in hard copy and digital forms (email and/or flash disk).
 
Digital files must be in their final form of publication and may be saved as JPEG or PNG or PDF formats submitted via email and/or flash disk. The resolutions should be at least 300 dpi. All submitted work will not be returned.
 
If electronic document transfer tools are used via email, they should NOT be time-bound or have expiry dates for downloading or sharing the documents.
 
Design samples must be submitted on not larger than an A4 size paper in either hard or soft copy through email or CD (inclusive of layout files, image files and all fonts used).
 
Submissions should be should be addressed to THE SECRETARY GENERAL, clearly marked “Design of EAC Emblem and Logos”.
(i) By Registered Post: 
East African Community
P.O. Box 1096
Arusha, Tanzania
 
(ii) By Hand Delivery:   
EAC Headquarter
Barabara Ya Afrika Mashariki
Arusha, Tanzania
 
(iii) By Email: 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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

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 9001: 2008 Certified

More Articles ...


East African Community
EAC Close
Afrika Mashariki Road
P.O. Box 1096
Arusha
United Republic of Tanzania

Tel: +255 (0)27 216 2100
Fax: +255 (0)27 216 2190
Email: eac@eachq.org