EALA members tour, assess region's institutions

PIC: Members of the East African Legislative Assembly take a photo before embarking on the tour. (courtesy photo)

EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY | EALA TOUR

Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) have embarked on a mission to assess progress of institutions, installations and facilities of the bloc.

Fresh from the second meeting of the first session of the assembly that concluded in Kampala last week, their on-spot assessment commenced Monday and runs up until February 23, a press release issued on Tuesday has said.

There are two groups for purposes of the on-spot assessment exercise. One group led by Uganda's Mathias Kasamba is touring the northern corridor, which starts in Mombasa port - through to Nairobi, Kampala and Kigali. Earlier on, the delegation was received by the governor of Mombasa County, Ali Hassan Joho, the press release said.
 
The second group led by Wanjiku Muhia is touring the central corridor and it also runs concurrently from Dar es Salaam through to Bujumbura and eventually Kigali.

The on-spot assessment on the northern corridor covers Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), and border visits to Holili-Taveta border and at the Namanga one stop border post.

The team will briefly tour Moshi, Tanzania then return via Namanga to inspect the Athi River weighbridge, before travelling by road to Kisumu, where it will visit the Lake Victoria basin commission for meetings with stakeholders. The delegation then detours westwards to the Malaba one stop border post and into the Republic of Uganda.

 In Uganda, legislators intend to meet with key stakeholders of the various EAC institutions, including the East African Development Bank (EADB), the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Organisation (CASSOA). Thereafter, EALA travels westwards by road to Mbarara and Kabale to meet with stakeholders at Gatuna/Katuna border before entering Rwanda. While in Kigali, the team will meet the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO).

The members on the central corridor circuit will interact with the EAC Kiswahili commission in Zanzibar as well as visit the Tanzania Ports Authority in Dar es Salaam, before proceeding to Dodoma, where they will meet with top government officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation.

The delegation will then proceed to Morogoro and Singida. It will inspect the Vigwaza weighbridge and the Isaka dry port, before proceeding to the Kabanga/Kobero border post. In Burundi, the members will interact with officials at the East African Health and Research Commission, visit Akanyaru/ Kanyaru border post, the Rusumo one stop border post and the Rusumo Hydro Electro Power.

Both teams will then convene in Kigali, Rwanda, for a wrap-up of the two-week tour. "The tour is important for the region for the members to appreciate the operations of EAC institutions and authorities/agencies that provide services, create awareness among the members on the gains and challenges of integration," the release said.

The tour also intends to inform the citizens of East Africa on the role of EALA in the integration process and for us to receive requisite feedback and recommendations from the citizens on their perception of the integration efforts so far. Such efforts will inform our mode of work and better equip us to legislate and to provide oversight.

EALA is an organ of the East African Community whose mandate revolves on legislation, oversight and representation.