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| The Chairperson of the Summit of the EAC Heads of State and President of the Republic of Kenya H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta addresses EAC Staff as Amb Sezibera and Chair of the Council hon. Phyllis Kandie looks on ---------------------------------------------- |
The Chairperson of the Summit of the EAC Heads of State and President of the Republic of Kenya H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, last evening engaged the staff of the Organs of the Community namely; the EAC Secretariat, the East African Legislative Assembly, and the East African Court of Justice in an interactive session at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
President Kenyatta, who travelled from Nairobi to Arusha on the recently refurbished Athi River-Namanga-Arusha Road, said “regional integration was a subject that was so close to his heart and that he strongly believes that the surest way to fast track economic development, eradicate poverty, and transform the region was through integration of our people”.
He said the EAC Partner States are not competitors but partners and complement each other and help one another overcome their weaknesses to achieve the agenda of integration, adding that “we compete with other parts of the world. We need to draw from each others strengthen so as to compete globally”.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said “as the current Chairman of EAC Heads of State Summit and President of the Republic of Kenya, am a committed East African, and I fully support the integration of East Africa, because it is only through unity that the citizens are assured of wealth creation, job creation and prosperity.
“Unity,” President Kenyatta said, “is the surest way to achieve economic development for our people. The process of bringing the people of the region together should move faster.”
He noted the need to revamp and review EAC Organs and Institutions to respond to current challenges and help to speed up the integration process. He said the review is aimed at fast tracking the remaining Protocols and programmes to achieve the ultimate pillar of the EAC integration process i.e. Political Federation which the Partner States were yearning for.
“We need to have quick systems to allow movement of people and goods. The future of our region lies in what is being done here in the EAC headquarters,” the Chair of the Summit said.
President Kenyatta told the attentive staff that they were the engine that will take the Community and East Africans to higher level as well as to their destiny and pledged to look into the issue of staff growth so that they do not stagnate as they continue to work at the EAC.
The President called upon the Council of Ministers to come up with a workable arrangement or proposal regarding the issues raised by the staff.
The Secretary General of the East African Community, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera commended the Chair of the Summit for standing by the Community at this time of historic change in East Africa and also for his leadership and commitment to East African Integration as well as infusing the Community with a sense of urgency. “We are excited about your commitment to accelerated implementation of Community projects and programs”, affirmed the Secretary General.
Amb. Sezibera said since President Kenyatta was elected, he had shown his commitment to regional integration through projects undertaken by his government. He cited the use of National Indentity cards as as travel documents within our region, introduction of the Single Tourist Visa and building of the Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Kigali and Bujumbura.
On the Standard Gauge Railway, the Secretary General said the region was following with keen interest the debate in Kenya about its construction. He said, while it is a commendable expression of the democratic right of the people of Kenya, the region wishes to say that this railway is not a purely Kenyan matter.
“It is an East African Affair, and we also have the right to be heard. And we have one simple message: we need the standard gauge railway- and we need it today, not tomorrow”.
Amb. Sezibera informed President Kenyatta that at the Headquarters, there was no vertical or horizontal staff mobility, nor pensions scheme, and this “does not allow for the development an independent Civil Service for East Africa, for example, during Financial Year 2016/2017, over 57 members of staff will exit at the same time unless these policies are changed”.
The Secrertary General lamented the donor dependence, saying the Community budget is mostly donor dependent for example, of the $117.5 million 2013/2014 budget, Partner States contributed $37.2 million while donors gave $79.8 million.
He urged the Summit to adopt the alternative financing mechanism of 1% of customs revenue as has been proposed. This provides for financial solidarity and equity, key tenets of the EAC Integration process. “I can assure you that investing in the EAC is the region’s insurance for the future” concluded Amb. Sezibera.
. H.E. President Kenyatta keenly listens as Registrar of East African Court of Justice, Prof Ruhangisa brief him inside the court room
Photo opportunity :H.E. Kenyatta, Ministers, EALA Members and EAC Staff
The mdudu,huo muungano mm binafsi na watanzania wenzangu wala hatuna nguvu nao kabisa bora kujizatiti sisi wenyewe kama watanzania,coz huyu ni ndumira kuwili mkubwa sn na asielitakia mema taifa la Tanzania akisha toka hapo na kukutana na ndumira kuwili wenzake hutusema na kutukandia sisi so mwacheni abwabwaje sisi tunamchora tu huku tukifanya yetu haiingii kabisa akilini vinchi vyenyewe kama vijimkoa then nyie ndio mtupeleke mbio haiwezekani hata siku moja,wanatapatapa hio RELI YENYEWE washaijenga kwa mdomo tayari Mataifa yao tegemezi yashawasusa sasa hiyo pesa ya kujenga hiyo RELI mtaitoa wapi na sisi watanzania ndio tushakua ngangari hatushikiki na MCHINA WETU so mtaula wa chuya na utakukabeni koooni.
ReplyDeleteMr Kenyatta is playing games with the EAC. Kilichomleta ni unafiki. Akitoka hapo utamsikia kakutana na the so called Coalition of the willing with Kagame and Mu-7. Kama makao makuu haya yangekuwa Kenya, Uganda au Rwanda, tungekuwa tumekwisha.
ReplyDeleteMdau wa 2 ama kweli mwacheni Mungu aitwe Mungu:
ReplyDeleteMakao Makuu ya EAC kuwa Arusha?,,, ohhh wanajuta sana 'CoW' ingewezekana wangeng'oa jengo wapeleke Nairobi, Kampala ama Kigali, ni vile Mungu alisha panga!