East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 11th March, 2022: The East African Community makes huge post-harvest losses in food products annually in the range of 30% in cereals, 50% in roots & tubers, and up to 70% in fruits and vegetables.
The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of the Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, said that Partner States could reverse this situation through deployment of better storage and processing technologies and enhanced packaging techniques can greatly contribute to the regional development objectives; ensure food security and result in higher earnings for farmers and SMEs.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 10thMarch 2022: The East African Community Secretariat urges EAC Partner States to step up measures to prevent and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases following heavy rains in parts of the EAC region. The recommendation follows reports of an outbreak of Yellow Fever in Kenya that has caused the death of at least three people and information on outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) among livestock in EAC Partner States received by the EAC Secretariat.
“The heavy rainfalls and high temperatures have resulted in high numbers of mosquitos which transmit vector-borne diseases,” says EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo. He has urged EAC Partner States to report such outbreaks to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as required and cautioned that the outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever might be followed by human cases if adequate measures are not taken in time. He also alled for EAC Partner States to step up disease surveillance, control, and vaccination against Yellow Fever among their citizens.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 08th March, 2022:The EAC Secretariat is among three institutions in Africa to be recognized by the African Union Commission (AUC) for excellence in project preparation especially feasibility studies and designs.
The EAC received the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) Quality Label (PQL) Award during the 7th PIDA Week that was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 28th February to 2nd March, 2022.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 7th March, 2022; The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Hon. (Dr) Peter Mathuki said women constitute more than 50 percent of the population of the EAC and therefore hold the key to the region’s economic success.
Dr. Mathuki made a statement earlier today during the opening session of an Annual Women’s Conference organized by EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the Tengeru Institute of Community Development as part of the 2022 International Women’s Day celebrations.
25TH ORDINARY MEETING OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE VIRTUAL MEETING, 4TH MARCH 2022
COMMUNIQUÉ
The 25th ordinary meeting of the East African Community (EAC) Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC) was held virtually on 4th March,2022. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, and current chairperson of MAC.
Present were:
Moses Makur Deng, Governor of the Bank of South Sudan;
Audace Niyonzima, Deputy Governor of the Bank of the Republic of Burundi;
Soraya M. Hakuziyaremye, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda;
Michael Atingi-Ego, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda; and
Yamungu Kayandabila, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Tanzania.
The meeting was held against a backdrop of rising global inflation, tightening financial conditions, and worsening debt vulnerabilities for developing economies owing to the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, and geopolitical tensions. To manage these developments, most EAC Partner States Central Banks continued with accommodative policy stance complemented by regulatory changes including relaxation of rules on loan classification/restructuring, extended lending facilities, exceptional liquidity assistance, and reduced charges on mobile transactions to support financial intermediation and digitalization. The Committee also took note of the increasing financial innovations.
Kampala, Uganda, 3rd March, 2022: The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) is pleased to announce that 63 scholarships have been awarded to applicants from all the six (6) East African Community Partner States (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda).
The call for the 3rd cohort attracted more than 1,450 applicants who went through a rigorous selection process involving pre-admission into the university and scholarship assessment. The eligibility to the scholarship included being a citizen of an EAC Partner State, being below thirty-five and a holder of a relevant bachelor’s degree at the level of at least upper second-class Honours or “distinction”.
East African Court of Justice, 3rd March, 2022: The East African Court of Justice First Instance Division has adjourned the hearing of Application No. 29 of 2020 seeking a temporary injunction restraining the Governments of Uganda and Tanzania from constructing the Crude Oil Pipeline pending determination of the main case.
The main case (Reference No. 39 of 2020 Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights & 3 Others vs The AG Uganda, Tanzania and Secretary General EAC, challenges a decision to construct an East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in the Republic of Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 28th February, 2022: EAC Secretary General Dr. Peter Mathuki is urging African leaders to urgently implement the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) agreement, in order to lower the costs of air transport in Africa and in turn boost development.
Speaking in Nairobi, Kenya, at the 7th Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) week, Dr. Mathuki stated that air cargo currently accounts for only 2% of the global air cargo adding that air transport remains out of reach for both passenger and cargo haulage due to high associated costs.
“These costs can be brought down if we have political commitment to implement the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) agreement,” he noted.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 24th February 2022: EAC staff, delegates, members of its Organs and Institutions and visitors can now easily conduct banking services at the EAC premises, following the launch of a Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Tanzania mini-branch, at the EAC Secretariat Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The move followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the EAC Secretary General Dr. Peter Mathuki and KCB Tanzania Managing Director Mr. Cosmas Kimario set to guide the establishment and extension of banking services by the regional lender at the EAC premises.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 24th February 2022: The EAC Partner States are currently engaging in internal consultations with a view to ensuring that they are involved in the EAC-EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA).
EPAs are trade and development agreements negotiated between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific Partners engaged in regional economic integration processes.
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY
