Ladies & Gentlemen of the Press; I welcome you all to this press briefing convened to notify you of the 1st Meeting of the 3rd Session of the 3rd East African Legislative Assembly scheduled to take place at the Karimjee Hall, here in Dar es Salaam, which commences today, 25th August 2014 to September 5th, 2014.
On behalf of the Assembly and on my own behalf, allow me to salute His Excellency, President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, and the entire Government of the United Republic of Tanzania for accepting to host the EALA in this great country and city of Dar es Salaam for accepting to grace the official opening.
We appreciate the leadership of H.E. Dr Kikwete in steering the United Republic of Tanzania and for his significant contribution to the EAC as a Member of the Summit.
This is the first time that the 3rd Assembly is meeting in Dar es Salaam as part of the pursuit of the principle of rotation anchored on EALA’s Strategic objective of enhancing the visibility of the Assembly by taking it nearer to the people. Meetings of the Assembly are now frequently held in all the Partner States as per the Provisions of Article 55 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.
We thank our host, the Speaker of the Parliament of Tanzania, Rt. Hon Anna Makinda for granting us access to the facilities at the Parliament of Tanzania and at the Karimjee Hall for our Session. Both the Parliament of Tanzania and the EALA continue to enjoy very warm and cordial relations.
Over the two-weeks, the Assembly will conduct the following notable business for consideration:
• Official welcome and opening of the session by H.E. Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete;
• receive and consider reports from various Committees of the Assembly. The Reports include that of the Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolutions and the African Leadership Centre on East African Societies and Regional Security; Report of the Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources on Regional Parliamentarians’ Workshop on Forests and Climate Change and the Report of the Committee on Communication, Trade and Investment on the EAC Aviation Sector.
• There are a number of Bills that are before the Committees of the House. These include
a) the EAC Integration (Education) Bill – which the House expects an update from the Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resoulution as to how far it is with regards to inputs from Partner State Parliaments and other stakeholders;
b) the EAC Co-operatives Societies Bill – this is before the Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources and it will soon conduct public hearings
c) the EAC Joint Trade Negotiations (Repeal) Bill – before the Committee on Communication, Trade and Investments.
• Finally, We shall consider Motions, Resolutions and Questions brought before the House.
Specifically, EALA is making its contribution in the integration process by providing the required Legislative Framework and Oversight to ensure the integration agenda remains on course and a priority. The involvement of East Africans in the process of integration is fundamental given the fact that the Treaty under the Principles of the Community, Article (7) places “a people centred process” as a key principle to integration. This principle is enshrined in our EALA Strategic Plan 2013- 2018, and forms the core of our theme. As EALA, we shall continue to engage with the citizens of the region, and ensure their opinions and aspirations are taken into account when enacting Legislation.
On Friday last week, EALA had an extensive tour of the IPP Media and held discussions with the Executive Chairman, Dr. Reginald Mengi. We are grateful to the IPP Media for undertaking to support the live broadcast of the official opening of EALA sitting here in Dar. This is a first step in our effort to create sustained networking between media and legislators to popularize the integration agenda and to educate the citizens on the role of the Assembly. Such discussions shall be enhanced across the Partner States. We also thank other Media houses / groups who have agreed to host MPs to various topical medial discussions and shows.
Other institutions that we shall visit during our Plenary include the Tanzania Ports Authority on August 29th, 2014 and the Taasisi ya Sanaa na Utamaduni – TASUBA (Institute of Arts and Culture) in Bagamoyo on August 30th, 2014. The visits are expected to enhance the collaboration between EALA and the stakeholders in question on the one hand and to enrich our legislative work on the other hand.
The EAC is at an important period in the integration dispensation. We appreciate the fact that all Partner States are committed to strengthening the integration process and in so doing are implementing the provisions of the various Protocols. The Customs Union attained its full implementation and several phases are at an advanced stage. Hereunder, goods produced in the region enjoy zero taxes but benefit from uniform external benefits, procedures and documentation. The Single Customs Territory regime is a further welcome to the EAC since it shall enable the faster movement of goods. The aim of creating a Single Customs Territory is to enable partner states to enjoy economies of scale, with a view to supporting the process of economic development. Here, the establishment of the One Stop Border Post principle which is now fully operational, backed by the law (OSPB law) is a furtherance to the Single Customs Territory and the movement of goods and people.
The fourth year of the implementation of the Common Market has commenced. The Common Market Protocol provides for free movement of goods, services, labour, capital and the rights to establishment among others. Generally, Partner States have shown their willingness to enforce the provisions of the said Protocols. The EAC has also signed the Monetary Union, the important third step in the four-tier integration process. We congratulate the United Republic of Tanzania for it has already signed for the ratification of the Monetary Union Protocol according to the timelines.
The implementation of the Monetary Union Protocol is expected to commence once all the Partner States ratify and deposit the instruments with the Secretary General of the EAC. This is a critical phase that will cement and solidify the integration process. But real implementation of these Protocols will require various pieces of legislation. As EALA, we are prepared to enact these legislations and therefore call upon the Council of Ministers to expeditiously bring these Bills to the House.
Despite the notable progress, there are challenges. As previously stated, we need to ensure that Non-Tariff Barriers are effectively addressed. A suitable mechanism should be put in place and enforced and as EALA, we shall appeal to the Summit to speed up the process.
The central corridor is a key infrastructure that services the mainland of Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi hinterland. We welcome the improvements made on this Central Corridor – including reducing the roadblocks and standardizing the security checks. This is in line with the commitments of the Summit especially after the infrastructure Summit in Nairobi in 2012.
The challenges include the slow-uptake of the agenda of the EAC in the national policy networks. We shall continue collaborating with all the Council of Ministers and other stakeholders and in carrying out of our mandate as stipulated by the Treaty to ensure that our EAC economic bloc is strengthened. It is important to note that the laws enacted by the EAC have the full force and take precedent over similar laws in the Partner States on matters related to the Community. We thus appeal to all Partner States to speedily harmonise their national laws with the Community law.
I wish to again welcome and invite the Media to fully cover the EALA Plenary sittings during the two weeks. I thank you for your kind attention.
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