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"id": 1272500,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1272500/?format=api",
"text_counter": 297,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kipipiri, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Wanjiku Muhia",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Ministry of East African Community established. It is unfortunate that the people drawing the programme can forget that the East African Region exists and that the Ministry of East African Community deals with ASALs. As written in the programme, the original mandate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was diaspora affairs. The original mandate of the Ministry was foreign relations. Diaspora and any other agenda can come after that. Back to my presentation, the Committee visited semi-autonomous institutions like the Secretariat. It is fully autonomous. They visited the East African Court of Justice (EACJ). They did not have the privilege of visiting the EALA because it was sitting in Bujumbura by then. They, however, visited the East African Community Competition Authority (EACA) and the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI). They observed several issues, and for the interest of time, I may not go through them because they are captured in the recommendations. During this visit, they found that the Community is constrained financially. The Community is facilitated by partner states. Each partner state contributes approximately US$8 million annually through the Ministry of EAC, through the Treasury. And time and again, this money does not reach Arusha as expected. For instance, you will find that countries are supposed to remit this money in July. Budget is read on 30th June in all countries within our region so that no nation will say that they have not read their budget and, therefore, cannot remit money. However, time and again, you will find a country like South Sudan that we love and respect and is our brother, does not remit this money year in, year out. They have not remitted US$30 million. This late remittance delays the implementation of policies or other matters in EAC. The Committee found that there was the challenge of staffing in all these institutions, which has been there since the time I was at EALA. There are always wrangles on staffing. The Committee also established that there was lack of awareness. For instance, the East African Court of Justice provides very good services to the citizens, but they do not use the court fully because they are unaware of these services. The Committee also found that the Non-Tariff Barrier (NTB) is the greatest challenge to the growth of this Community. If we refresh our memory, our East African region is established on four pillars. The Common Market focuses on free movement of goods, people, and services. But the non-tariff barriers in this region have limited this protocol from being fully implemented. There are all manner of non-tariff barriers, including roadblocks. This weekend, we had the privilege of one-on-one with the Ministry of Roads and Transport. We also intend to sit with the Ministry of Interior and National Administration. The roadblocks bar trade from happening. After implementing the Customs Union, you go to the One Stop Border Post and find a different mindset in the officers. They do not know that one does not need a visa to cross into our neighbouring countries. The boundaries are currently there, but in essence, and in the spirit of EAC, those boundaries do not exist. That is why we have One Stop Border Post. So, this mindset needs to change. All these are issues to do with non-tariff barriers. This Committee recommends that EAC, through the Ministry of East African Community, ASALs and Regional Development, should explore alternative financial mechanisms for the Community. It is no longer tenable to ask countries to remit money. We are not able to sanction, though sanction is in the Treaty, those who delay to remit their payments. The other recommendation is that amendment to the Treaty be fast-tracked. There has been a lot of work towards amending the Treaty. There are issues delaying the process. These are issues like consensus. The EAC now has seven-member states. For every sitting, all seven states must be present. Further, the seven states have to agree with the issue on the table. In the 21st Century, that is not possible. That is why the EAC is not able to move. How can seven-member states have the same idea and agree on it unanimously? There will always be dissenting voices. So, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}