Posted in Press Release
This afternoon the newly appointed Executive Secretary of Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), Dr. Ali Said Matano took the Oath of Allegiance before the Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. Present at the brief ceremony was the EAC Director for Human Resource and Administration, Mr. Joseph Ochwada and other senior staff of the Community.
Dr. Ali Said Matano (Kenyan) solemnly swore to be faithful and bear true allegiance to the East African Community and to preserve, protect and defend the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community as by law established.
Dr. Ali Said Matano now officially assumes office as the new Executive Secretary of Lake Victoria Basin Commission following the expiry of Dr. Canisius Kanangire’s (Rwandan) tenure on 26th May 2016.
Dr. Matano’s appointment was endorsed by the 33rd Extra-Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers that took place on 27th May 2016 in Arusha, Tanzania. This was after his appointment was approved by the Sectoral Council of Ministers for the Lake Victoria Basin.
LVBC is a specialized Institution of the East African Community responsible for coordinating the sustainable development agenda of the Lake Victoria Basin, with its Headquarters located in Kisumu, Kenya.
Dr. Matano was the LVBC”s Programmes and Projects Development Officer. The post of Executive Secretary rotates amongst the five Partner States.
Posted in Press Release
A four-day strategic retreat for the Permanent/Principal Secretaries (PSs) responsible for EAC Affairs in the Partner States concluded yesterday in Moshi, Tanzania, with a firm resolve by the PSs to upscale their oversight role on the EAC Organs and Institutions, as well as the integration agenda.
The Retreat was attended by Amb. Dr. Azizi Mlima, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania; Mrs. Edith Mwanje, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of East African Community Affairs in Uganda; Amb. Jean Rigi, Permanent Secretary Ministry to the Office of the President Responsible for EAC Affairs in Burundi; Ms. Betty Maina Principal Secretary responsible for East African Affairs, Ministry of Labour and East African Affairs in Kenya; and Mr. Innocent Safari, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of East African Community Affairs in Rwanda. The Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, all the Heads of the EAC Institutions, Registrar of the EACJ, Senior Officials from Partner States and staff of the EAC Secretariat were in attendance.
The Retreat was chaired by Amb. Dr. Aziz P. Mlima, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, the United Republic of Tanzania, who pointed out that the Retreat came at a time when a lot of milestones were being recorded in the EAC integration process and the matters for discussion were critical to the integration agenda. He called upon the Permanent/Principal Secretaries to provide the utmost input in the deliberations for the benefit of the Community.
Addressing the Permanent/Principal Secretaries, the Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko pointed out that the Community was regarded as one of the best performing Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa and yet it still faced many challenges that needed to be addressed. He noted that the items on the agenda for the Retreat, notably the proposed implementation framework for the Institutional Review was critical for the efficient and effective performance of the Community and as such needed to be addressed urgently.
The Secretary General emphasized the pivotal role played by the Permanent/Principal Secretaries as members of the Coordination Committee, in making recommendations that would facilitate the deepening of the integration process and contribute to making the Community a stronger regional Institution. He said “the strong people-centred policies and systems were key to the success of the Community as an Organisation”.
On Institutional Review
The Community initiated an Institutional Review process in 2008 and undertook a detailed Internal Review process in 2011. An In-depth Functional Analysis was done in 2013 and a comprehensive stakeholder consultations carried out in 2014. The detailed Review Report was submitted to the Council of Ministers in 2015. The Report proposes a wide range of changes in the institutional structure and management of the EAC.
The 33rd Meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers held on 29th February 2016 in Arusha, Tanzania considered the proposals and decided that the outcome of EAC Institutional review be implemented in two phases; the initial phase and the consolidation phase which will require transforming EAC Secretariat into a Commission.
The Council also decided the Community will retain the current EAC Executive structure in the short-term with the following amendments; the positions of Deputy Secretaries General to be reorganized around the following clusters namely: Economic Affairs; Political Affairs; Infrastructure; and Social Services.
The Council devolved all the operational responsibilities to the respective Directors, and for the Deputy Secretaries General to retain policy implementation oversight, monitoring and strategic functions. The Council also established the position of Director General (DG) - Corporate Management to be responsible for Finance and Administration matters as well as other support services currently reporting directly to the Secretary General (Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Resource Mobilization). In addition, the functions of Planning and Monitoring and Evaluation to be included under the proposed portfolio
At the Moshi Retreat, the Permanent/Principal Secretaries considered implementation framework for the EAC institutional review and, among others, directed the Secretariat to fully operationalize the Ad hoc EAC Service Commission by 1st July, 2016.
The Retreat directed the Secretariat to develop a proposal on how the approved clusters shall be implemented, including a review of the current functions to determine the alignment and present this proposal to the Ad hoc EAC Service Commission for consideration. The Retreat directed the Secretariat to develop within two (2) years a framework for transition to the Commission taking cognizance of existing studies and other comparative information on other similar RECs.
Constraints faced in implementing Article 71 of the Treaty
The Retreat of Permanent/Principal Secretaries deliberated on a presentation by the Secretariat on constraints it faces when implementing Article 71 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. The Permanent/Principal Secretaries, among others, tasked the Secretariat to develop a framework for carrying out investigation of breaches of the Treaty in the Partner States and Partner States to assist the Secretariat when carrying out the investigation; and the Secretariat to develop proposals on sanctions that can be imposed on the Partner States that breach the Treaty for consideration by the Council of Ministers.
Recruitment of General Staff
The retreat discussed the current moratorium on the recruitment of General Staff in the Organs and Institutions and the urgent need to have it lifted taking into consideration its adverse effects on the operations of the Community.
The Retreat recommended to the Sectoral Council of Ministers Responsible for EAC Affairs and Planning that the Secretariat be allowed to recruit and fill in the vacant General Staff positions under G1 to G3 within the approved budget. And that the recruitment of General Staff under G4 to G5 be undertaken based on disaggregated Points of the Quota System (such as computation of Quota Points be done separately for General Staff on G4 and G5). There was the need for Partner States to expedite the process of ratification of the Protocol on Immunities and Privileges by November 2016.
Exit of over 50 Professional Staff from EAC Service
The Retreat took note of the pending exit of 52 professional staff from the EAC Secretariat from July 2016 to November 2017, after completion of their terms. The Permanent/Principal Secretaries thanked the exiting staff for their valuable contribution to the Community and directed the Secretariat to commence the recruitment process to fill the positions, in line with the decision of the 33rd Council of Ministers. The Secretariat was tasked to develop a smooth transition plan to ensure that operations of the Community are not adversely affected by the mass exit.
Roadmap for the Integration of the Republic Of South Sudan (RSS) Into EAC
Following the successful negotiations between the EAC and RSS on the latter’s accession to the Community, the RSS signed the Accession Treaty in Dar es Salaam on 15th April 2016.
While the full admission of RSS will be confirmed by the ratification and depositing the Instruments of Ratification of the Accession to the Treaty (latest by 1st October, 2016, with the Secretary General, the Retreat recommended to Sectoral Council of Ministers Responsible for EAC Affairs and Planning to, among others, approve an exploratory mission at the Coordination Committee level with co-opted members from the Secretariat, Organs and Institutions of the Community to RSS to engage the Government on the proposed roadmap.
Improving Efficiency in the Community
The Retreat tasked the Secretariat to put in place a quick feedback mechanism to accelerate the implementation of priority EAC projects and programmes including monitoring and evaluation and an online portal for such projects and programmes to enable Partner States track progress directly. The Secretariat was also tasked to develop a framework for effective Monitoring and Evaluation on the activities of the Community involving stakeholders within the Secretariat, Institutions and the Partner States.
Rationalizing meetings and optimizing the utilization of video conferencing facilities as well as exploring the possibilities of utilizing other technologies were some of the tasks given to the Secretariat.
The Secretariat was directed to develop a draft concept paper on a program for young professionals that will identify and systematically deploy young professionals in the EAC to build capacity in regional integration matters. Also the Secretariat was directed to propose priority areas that could be championed by individual Partner States and table the proposal at the Meeting of the Sectoral Council of Ministers Responsible for EAC Affairs and Planning of October, 2016.
The Secretariat will also compile a draft list of Decisions that could be considered for Decision Making by Simple Majority and submit the list at the Sectoral Council of EAC Affairs and Planning in October, 2016 for consideration.