East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, February 27th 2020: The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has approved the East African Community’s Supplementary Budget of USD 4,977,475 for the Financial Year ending 30th June 2020, to fund its additional expenditure for priority projects and programmes, that were hitherto, unfunded.
Chair of the EAC Council of Ministers, Hon Olivier Nduhungirehe tabled the EAC Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2020, that was enacted, sailing through the House after debate and without amendment(s).
In his submissions, the Chair of the General-Purpose Committee, Hon Abdikadir Aden, said the projects and activities to be supplemented during the Financial Year include an additional expenditure for the EAC Secretariat pegged at USD 3,477,545.
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, February 26th 2020: A report of the Assembly has once again lamented over the declining and slow pace of remittances at the Community. Coupled with this aspect, the Report of the Committee on Accounts on the audited accounts of the EAC for the Financial Year ended 30th June 2018, that was adopted yesterday, calls for the speedy conclusion of the Alternative Sustainable Financing mechanism on the one side and the improvement of systems, effective and efficient operations as provided for in the financial rules and regulations of the Community.
…Hon Maj. Gen (Rtd) Otafiire pledges support for the integration process
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: February 25th, 2020: Uganda’s Minister for East African Community, Hon. Major General (Rtd) Kahinda Otafiire, late yesterday took Oath of Allegiance as an Ex-Officio Member of the Assembly.
Hon Otafiire was sworn in by the Clerk to the Assembly at a brief ceremony witnessed by the Speaker and Members of EALA in line with the Rule 5 of the Rules and Procedures of the Assembly. The Rule says in part that: “No Member can sit or participate in the proceedings of the House until the Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance to the Treaty is taken”.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 22nd February, 2020:The 21st Ordinary Meeting of the Summit of East African Community Heads of State that had been scheduled for Saturday, 29th February, 2020 in Arusha, Tanzania has been postponed to a later date.
The postponement of the 21st Meeting of the Summit comes in the wake of a request by the Republic of South Sudan, which said it was currently in the process of forming a transitional government bringing together the government and opposition groups.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 20th February, 2020: The High Commissioner of India to the United Republic of Tanzania, Mr. Sanjiv Kohli, has been accredited as the country’s representative to the East African Community.
The High Commissioner presented his letter of credence to EAC Secretary General, Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, during a ceremony held at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Arusha, Tanzania, 20th February 2020 – The New Partnership for Africa’s Development Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) held its 30th Oversight Committee meeting for the Special Fund at the East African Community Headquarters, in Arusha, Tanzania.
The meeting attracted more than 30 participants, including donors providing financial support to the NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund, representatives of the African Development Bank, African Union Commission, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Regional Economic Communities, Regional Power Pools, Corridors Authorities and Transboundary River basin organizations.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 20 February, 2020; The EAC Secretariat just finalised an intensive training programme for laboratory experts to detect and diagnose the new novel corona virus (COVID-19) in the East African Community region.
The training was conducted under the EAC Network of Public Health Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases (Mobile Labs Programme) in collaboration with the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM). The programme is part of the financial support provided to the EAC Region by the German Development Bank (KfW) on behalf of Federal Republic of Germany. The training aimed at building capacity in the region to detect COVID-19.
East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 19th February, 2020 The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Tanzania, Mrs Regine Hess, today presented her letter of credence to the Secretary General of the EAC Secretariat, Amb. Libérat Mfumukeko, to be accredited as the new German Ambassador to the EAC.
Mrs Hess had previously held diplomatic positions in the EAC Partner States of Uganda and Kenya and was accredited to the United Republic of Tanzania on 14th January, 2020. She is the first female German Ambassador to be accredited to the EAC.
East African Court of Justice Arusha 19th February 2020: The Appellate Division heard an Application filed by Managing Editor Mseto & another, seeking Court to strike out a notice of Appeal that was filed by the Attorney General of the United Republic of Tanzania, intending to appeal against the decision of the First Instance which declared that the government of Tanzania violated the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community.
The First Instance in its decision which was delivered on 21st June 2018 declared that, the order issued by the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports of the United Republic of dated 10th August 2016 vide Gazette Notice No. 242 restricts press freedom and thereby constitutes a violation of the Respondent’s gov’t of Tanzania obligation under the Treaty to uphold and protect the principles of democracy, rule of law, accountability, transparency and good governance as specified under Articles 6 (d) and 7 (2) of the Treaty.
…. as EAC provides strategic opportunities for marketing more coffee
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 12th February, 2020: The East African Community Coffee Business Forum kicked off in Mombasa, Kenya with high level speakers from public and private sector exchanging and seeking to learn from each other as well as find new markets and seal international sales opportunities.
The forum organised by EAC jointly with the African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition and financed by the European Union through the MARKUP Programme will feature a week of interactive discussions, workshops and networking events.
Speaking at the official opening ceremony, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of the Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, said coffee was an important and strategic crop for the EAC region, adding that the composition of EAC trade continues to be dominated by agricultural commodities, including coffee.
