…decade later, no Committee is in place, continued delay, hampering trade -legislators assert
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, October 1st 2019: The delay of the region to institute the Trade Remedies Committee and amend a critical article of the Protocol of the Customs Union is negatively affecting the business community, prolonging resolution of trade disputes and impacting on intra EAC trade, a report of the regional Assembly has said.
EALA has thus affirmed the need for the Partner States to speedily amend the said Article 24 (2) (a), whose ratification has taken a decade and for the same instrument to be deposited with the Secretary General by February 2020.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 2nd October, 2019: Rice farmers in East Africa are set to benefit from a US$3.1 million dollar grant to a rice sector promotion project which will be implemented over a period of three years.
The Competitive African Rice Initiative in East Africa (CARI-EA), which is being implemented jointly by the East African Community (EAC) and Kilimo Trust (KT) seeks to improve the rice sub-sector in the region.The project was approved for funding by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in April 2019 and is now at the initial stage of implementation.
EAC Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 1st October, 2019: The web site of the EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme was officially launched at a festive event during the EAC High Level Trade Integration Conference held from 25th to 27th September, 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community and Regional Development, Kenya, Dr. Margret Mwakima, and Amb Jean Rigi, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of EAC Affairs, Burundi jointly launched the EAC MARKUP website.
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, October 1st 2019: In a bid to mop out illegal Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the EAC region, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is emphatic that Partner States should as a matter of necessity, ratify, domesticate and operationalize the Nairobi Protocol and the Arms Trade Treaty. Failure to do so, creates a lacuna and opens up avenues for the weapons to get in to the wrong hands including that of terrorist networks. The Assembly is further calling for a regional legislative framework to address the problem of proliferation of small arms. Today, the Assembly adopted the report of the Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolutions on the Oversight Activity on the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the EAC region. The oversight activity was carried out in the region on August 25-28th, 2019, in collaboration with the International Committee on the Red Cross (ICRC).
The report presented to the House yesterday by the Chair of the RACR, Hon Victor Burikukiye, further urges the Assembly to recommend to the EAC Council of Ministers as a matter of priority, to ensure the process of marking and registering the firearms and light weapons is prioritized to enhance the fight against transboundary crime.
REPORT OF THE EAC HIGH LEVEL CONFERENCE ON TRADE INTEGRATION HELD AT THE RADISSON BLU HOTEL, NAIROBI FROM THE 25TH TO 27TH SEPTEMBER, 2019
a) Introduction
1. The conference was held to commemorate 20 years of the East African Community and 15 years of the East African Customs Union. The overarching goal of the conference was to have an open, honest and critical self-examination as a region, with regard to what has been achieved, what has worked and what needs to be done to move the regional integration forward as well as improving the EAC trade policy and other instruments. The outputs of the conference are key to making EAC an attractive investment bloc, boost industrialization, infrastructure development as well as embracing emerging technologies for economic development. The future of the EAC can only be assured if there is continued support by all Partner States, both at policy formulation and implementation levels.
East African Community Secretariat, 26thSeptember, 2019: Nairobi: The East African Community High Level Trade Integration Conference themed “Enhancing Trade Integration in the East African Community” kicked off Wednesday at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
Addressing the participants, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for EAC and Regional Development, Mr. Adan Mohamed, said the region had made tremendous progress in the realm of trade facilitation including the transformation of Customs processes, the introduction of technology in driving regional business, re-orienting border operations under the coordinated border management concept, and re-engineering immigration procedures.
East African Community Secretariat, 24thSeptember, 2019: Nairobi:All is set for the High Level Trade Integration Conference that is due to take place from 25th to 27th September, 2019 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
Secretary in the Ministry of EAC and Regional Development, Dr. Margret Mwakima disclosed that the conference it was anticipated that the Conference would be attended by more than 300 key players from the East African region, International and Regional Economic Communities, exhibitors, stakeholders and Government officials.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 23rd September, 2019: The13th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security is currently underway in Arusha, Tanzania.
The Sectoral Council will run from 23rd September, 2019 to 27th September, 2019. It is composed of three sessions which are, the Session of Senior Officials which is scheduled to be held from 23rd to 25th September, 2019; the Session of Permanent/Principal/Under Secretaries slated for 26th September, 2019; and the Ministerial session on 27th September, 2019.
East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 19th September, 2019: The East African Community has declared Fridays as ‘Afrika Mashariki Fashion Day’ during which East Africans will wear attires manufactured in the region.
The 36th Extra-Ordinary Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) further declared the 1st Week of September an ‘Afrika Mashariki Fashion Week’ to be held annually as a Trade Fair and Exhibition of EAC designed textiles and garments.
The SCTIFI urged EAC Partner States that produce cotton to set up national cotton lint buffer stock mechanisms to ensure all year-round availability of locally produced cotton lint to spinning mills.
East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 18th September, 2019: The EAC Deputy Secretary General in-charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, has urged EAC Partner States to work closely with the private sector and farmers associations to curb the high incidence of pests and diseases in the region.
Hon. Bazivamo underscored the fundamental linkages between agriculture, trade and agro-industry and stressed the need to strengthen these sectors.
