Rwanda expected to shortly fill the vacancy in the Assembly
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha, Tanzania: 16 September, 2016: With outgoing EALA Member, Hon Christophe Bazivamo having taken oath as new Deputy Secretary General of the East African Community, a vacancy has arisen that shall shortly be filled. Already, the Speaker of the EALA, Rt Hon Daniel Fred Kidega has declared the vacancy and written to the Speaker of the Parliament of Rwanda in line with Article 51 (3) (a) of the Treaty for the Establishment for the EAC and the provisions of Section 7(3) (a) and (b) of the EALA Elections Act 2011.
It is now expected that Parliament of Rwanda shall elect a new Member to replace Hon Bazivamo. The Member is to serve EALA for the rest of the tenure of the Assembly up to June 2017.
The Oath of Allegiance to the Community which was presided over by the Summit of the EAC Heads of State at the recent Summit in Dar es Salaam, was administered by the Registrar of the East Africa Court of Justice, His Worship Yufnalis N. Okubo and in the presence of the Counsel to the Community, Hon Anthony Kafumbe.
With the new appointment, Hon Bazivamo ceased to be a Member of EALA. Hon Bazivamo resigned shortly thereafter in a letter to the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon Daniel Fred Kidega.
“Aware of the fact that in accordance with article 50(d) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, I cannot serve at the same time as Member of Parliament of the East African Legislative Assembly and as Deputy Secretary General of the Community, I hereby submit my resignation as a Member of EALA, to allow me serve fully as Deputy Secretary General of the East African Community”, the letter of resignation reads in part.
Hon Bazivamo was elected to EALA in 2011 to take over from Hon Damien Habumuryemi who was appointed Minister for Education in a cabinet reshuffle. Rt. Hon Habumuryemi would then be appointed the Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda, a position he served until he was replaced by Rt Hon Anastase Murekezi.
At EALA, Hon Bazivamo was Chairperson of the Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources Committee as at time of his appointment as Deputy Secretary General. He also served as a Member of the Committee on x and was captain of the EALA/EAC Football team, who are the current reigning champions of the Inter-Parliamentary Football Tournament. The new Deputy Secretary General also served as a Commissioner in EALA in 2012-2014.
Hon Bazivamo has served in different Ministerial positions in Rwanda including the Lands, Environment, Forestry, Water and Mines Ministry, that of Local Government and has also served as Minister for Internal Affairs. He is also the current Vice President of the RPF/Inkotanyi, the ruling political organization in Rwanda.
Speaking briefly to EALA Media Office, the former legislator thanked the Speaker and Members of the Assembly for their support and promised to ensure the integration process is strengthened as he takes over a new role at the EAC Secretariat.
Currently, the EAC Secretariat has four Deputy Secretaries General who serve different dockets. The dockets include; Productive and Social Sectors; Planning and Infrastructure; Political Federation and Finance and Administration.
Hon Bazivamo, is an agriculturist by profession. He had his elementary education in the current Rulindo District and joined Secondary School at Lycee de Kigali in 1975.
He joined the National University of Rwanda in 1981 where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agro-engineering. Between 1988 and 1989, he worked as a teacher. He later on pursued his Masters’ Degree in Germany before working with a number of NGOs until 1994 when he served as the Prefect of the (then) Gitarama Prefecture.
In 2002, he became a Minister of Local Government.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Article 51 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC refers to the Tenure of Elected Members.
Specifically, Article 51(3) (a) of the Treaty states that
3) An elected Member of the Assembly shall vacate his or her seat in the Assembly upon the happening of any of the following events;
a) upon the delivery of his or her resignation in writing to the Speaker of the Assembly.
-Ends-
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For more Information, contact:
Bobi Odiko, Senior Public Relations Officer,
East African Legislative Assembly,
Tel: +255-27-2508240, Cell: +255 787 870945+254-733-718036;
Email: bodiko@eachq.org,
Arusha, Tanzania,
www.eala.org
