nl - 09 - 2013 e-newsletter - 30 s… · e-eac eac update issue no 74 30 september 2013 newsletter....

“TERRORISM CANNOT

BE JUSTIFIED”

~ SAYS AMB. SEZIBERA

The Secretary General of the East African Community Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera has conveyed heartfelt condolences and deep sympathies to His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, the Government and people of Kenya following the deadly Westgate Mall siege by terrorists. In the message, the Secretary General said “Terrorism cannot be justified for any reason, and any attempt to justify it is unacceptable”. On behalf of the East African Community and his own behalf, Amb. Sezibera extended the EAC’s support as the Republic of Kenya may deem necessary. In Solidarity with the President, Government and People of Kenya, and in respect of the lives lost during the terrorist attack, All flags at the EAC Headquarters will flew at half mast for three days.

In this Issue

“Terrorism Cannot be Justified” ~ says Amb. Sezibera

Arusha Hosts 27th Ordinary

Meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers

EAC Election Observer

Mission Releases Preliminary Report on Rwanda Parliamentary Elections

COMESA, EAC, IGAD, IOC

Conclude Joint Mission to Brussels

EACJ dismisses Alcon

International Limited dispute

EACJ First Instance Division

Concludes 3rd Quarter Session

EAC Immunization and

Vaccines Partners Meet in Arusha

Let Us Know How

You Perceive the EAC EAC Showcases Regional

Integration Achievements

e-EAC EAC UPDATE ISSUE NO 74 30 SEPTEMBER 2013

Newsletter

2

The 27th ordinary meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers concluded over the 1 September 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania with the Ministers deliberating on a wide range of regional matters and adopting several policies and directives geared at enhancing and strengthening the regional integration and development process. The meeting was chaired by Hon. Shem Bageine, Minister of State for EAC Affairs, Republic of Uganda and Chairperson of the Council and leaders of Delegations included Hon. Amelia Kyambadde, MP, Uganda’s Minister of Trade; Hon. Léontine Nzeyimana, Burundi’s Minister to the Office of the President Responsible for EAC Affairs; Hon. Phyllis J. Kandie, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce & Tourism; Hon. Jacqueline Muhongayire, Rwanda’s Minister for East African Community Affairs; and Hon. Samuel J. Sitta, MP, Tanzania’s Minister for East African Cooperation. In attendance were several Ministers, Permanent Secretar-ies, Heads of EAC Organs and Institutions, EAC Observer Organizations as well as officials from the EAC Secretariat.

The Chairperson of the Council reiterated the collective need to focus on the greater interests of the East African Community, as the Council seeks to surmount any challenges before it. He said the Community was now a bigger economic and political entity with enormous potential for enhanced leverage in regional and international affairs, if it acts as a bloc. “As the EAC moves to the next critical levels of integration, Partner States will, more than ever before, be called upon to commit the requisite resources and political will for the attainment of the Common Market, the Monetary Union, and the ultimate stage of a Political Federation” affirmed Hon. Bageine. The Secretary General of the East African Commu-nity, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera commended Hon. Monique Mukaruliza, and Hon. Musa Sirma, former Ministers of EAC in Rwanda and Kenya respectively for their dedicated leader-ship and service to the Council and the Community. He congratulated Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax, upon her

(Continued on page 3)

EAC UPDATE ISSUE NO 74 30 SEPTEMBER 2013

Arusha Hosts 27th Ordinary Meeting

of the EAC Council of Ministers

3

appointment as the first female Executive Secretary of Southern African Development Community (SADC). He also commended Amb. George William Kayonga, and Mr. Chiboli Shakaba, former Permanent Secretaries responsible for EAC Affairs in the Republics of Rwanda and Kenya respectively, for their service to the Community. He welcomed and congratulated Hon. Phyllis Kandie, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of EAC Affairs, Commerce and Tourism; Hon. Jacqueline Muhongayire, Minister of EAC Affairs, Republic of Rwanda; and Hon. Johnston Busingye, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Republic of Rwanda. Amb. Sezibera pointed out that a lot of activities are being undertaken and tremendous progress being realized in the economic, political and social sectors during the period under review. He noted that the integration process has proceeded very well and many breakthroughs have been made. He wished the Session fruitful deliberations Some of the decisions/directives taken at the 27th Meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers included:

Political Federation: The Council directed Partner States to finalize their national consultations on the Way Forward on the EAC Political Federa-tion and submit their reports to the Secretary General by 31st October, 2013. Bills: The Council adopted the East African Community Science and Technology Commission Bill, 2013 and the East African Com-munity Assets and Premises Protection Bill 2013 and refered them to the Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs for legal input. The Council also directed the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Uganda to deposit instruments of ratification of the Protocol on the Establishment of the Kiswahili Commis-sion and deposit their respective instruments of ratification with the Secretary General by 31st December 2013. Further, it directed the United Republic of Tanzania to ratify the Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Health Research Commission and deposit the instruments of ratification with the Secretary General by 31st December 2013.

(Continued from page 2)



… Council directs conclusion of consultations on EAC

Political Federation Way Forward by Partner States

4

Republic of South Sudan: The Council approved the negotiations with the Republic of South Sudan to join the East African Community; established a High Level Negotiations Team; directed Partner States to nominate three (3) Members to the High Level Negotiation Team by 30th September 2013; and directed the Secretariat to thereafter convene a meeting of High Level Negotiation Team to start the negotiations with the Republic of South Sudan by 15th October 2013. Federal Republic of Somalia The Council approved the verification programme for the application of the Federal Republic of Somalia to join the East African Community and established a Verification Committee composed of three (3) Experts from each Partner State to undertake the verification exercise and three (3) Experts from the Secretariat to facilitate the exercise scheduled for December 2013 - August 2014. The Council also directed Partner States to nominate experts by 31st October, 2013 to participate in the verification of the application of the Federal Republic of Somalia and directed the Verification Committee to submit the report of the verifica-tion exercise to the 29th Meeting of the Council scheduled for August 2014 for consideration; and directed the Secretary General to communicate to the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia to extend appropriate security and proto-col facilitation to the Verification Team while in the Federal Republic of Somalia. Key Priority Interventions to be implemented over the FY 2014/15: The Council adopted the following key priority interventions to be implemented over the FY 2014/15:

(a) Operationalization of the Single Customs Territory; (b) (b) Implementation of the EAC Common Market

Protocol; (c) Implementation of the Roadmap towards the establishment of the EAC Monetary Union; (d) Development of cross-border infrastructure with particular focus on implementing the decisions of the Summit Retreat on Infrastructure (held in November 2012); (e) Implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (COMESA- EAC--SADC); (f) Implementation of the EAC Industrialization Policy and Strategy; (g) Implementation of the EAC Food Security Action Plan and Climate Change Master Plan; (h) Sensitization of East Africans; (i) Implementation of the EAC Strategy on Regional Peace and Security; and (j) Implementation of the activities under Political Federation for the East African Community;

(k) Revitalization of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization.

EAC Panel of Eminent Persons: The Council adopted the Modalities for the Establishment and Functioning of the EAC Panel of Eminent Persons and Establishment of an EAC Peace Facility and directed Partner States to ratify the Protocol on Peace and Security.

Executive Staff of LVFO: The Council took note of the new appointments of Executive Staff of LVFO namely the Mr. Geoffrey Monor, Executive Secretary and the Deputy Secretary General Dr. Olive Mkumbo, and commend the outgoing staff Mr. Dick Nyeko former Executive Secretary and Mr. Mathias Wafula, former Deputy Executive Secretary for the services rendered. Alternative Financing Mechanisms: In regards to Alternative Financing Mechanisms, the Council directed the Partner States to consult further on the proposal that the budget of the East African Community be financed from 1% of the value of imports from outside the East African Community and the Secretariat to develop a comprehensive paper on all other alternative financing mechanisms for the Community and submit to the Council for consideration. Expulsion of Illegal immigrants from Kagera Region: The Council directed the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Rwanda to urgently meet to resolve this issue; and directed the Sectoral Council on Peace and Inter-State Security to consider developing regional mechanisms to ad-dress future challenges of the above nature. Trilateral Developments: The Council took note of the ongoing trilateral initiatives by Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda on different matters of integra-tion including infrastructure, establishment of a Single Cus-toms Territory and the Political Federation; and requested the Chairperson of the Council to provide more information on these developments to the Council at its 28th Meeting. Audit Commission and Audit and Risk Committee Reports: The Council received the Audit Commission Report on the East African Community Financial Statements for the year ended 30th June 2012; and decided to table the Audited Financial Statements of EAC Organs and Institutions to the East African Legislative Assembly for debate and such other consultations and action as the Assembly may deem necessary. The Council also adopted the Report of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Financial Year 2012/2013.



… Council adapts modalities for establishment of the

EAC Panel of Eminent Persons

5

The East African Community's Observer Mission has issued a preliminary statement on the Parliamentary Elections in the Republic of Rwanda which took place 16 to 18 September 2013. The Mission was in the country at the invitation of the Government of Rwanda and the National Electoral Commission. It was led by Hon. Musa Sirma, Former Minister for EAC Affair’s, Republic of Kenya and comprised 40 members drawn from the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), Civil Society Organisa-tions (CSOs), and National Human Rights Commis-sions from 4 EAC countries namely Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The Mission’s assessment of the elections was primarily based on the Constitution and other legisla-tion governing elections in Rwanda. The assessment was also predicated on international principles and standards governing the conduct of democratic elec-tions including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007) and the EAC Princi-ples for Election Observation and Evaluation (2012).

The Mission's preliminary statement contains prelimi-nary findings, recommendations and conclusions made by the Mission based on independent observa-tion, interaction with electoral stakeholders including the National Electoral Commission, political parties, civil society organisations, security agencies, the media, international and domestic observers present in Rwanda, among others. As the electoral process is still ongoing, this statement limits itself to the as-sessment made upto the three-day polling and counting processes, as at 18th September 2013. Having consulted with stakeholders from 9 to 13 September, on 14 September 2013, eight teams of Observers were deployed to all the five provinces of Rwanda. Each team was equipped with question-naires as an aid for systematic collection of data on activities pertaining to pre-polling, polling and count-ing processes as well as announcement of provi-sional results.


EAC Election Observer Mission

Releases Preliminary Report on

Rwanda Parliamentary Elections

6

Five Regional Economic Communities in the Eastern, South-ern Africa, and Indian Ocean region, namely COMESA, EAC, IGAD, and IOC, today concluded a three-day joint mission to Brussels, Belgium to discuss with the European Union’s Ex-ternal Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission’s Development Cooperation Office (DEVCO) how to deepen and consolidate the cooperation and gains so far made among and between the parties. Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera, Secretary General of the East African Community; Amb. Jean Claude de L’Estrac, Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Commission; Mr. Sindiso Ndema Ngwenya, Secretary-General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); and Amb. Eng. Mahboub Maalim, Executive Secretary of IGAD led the respective organization’s officials. In attendance were also officials from the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The discussions also delved on the 11th European Develop-ment Fund (EDF) architecture in support of regional integra-tion and cooperation in the 5 regional economic communi-ties.

The five Regional Organisations have been implementing regional projects and programmes using EDF resources for more than ten years. They started, as the lead actors to programme by identifying and formulating projects, with the 9th EDF upon signature of the ACP EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement. During the interaction with the European Union and DEVCO, it was reiterated that the region had a high level of inter-regional coordination, in particular among COMESA, EAC, IGAD and IOC, under the Inter-Regional Coordinating Com-mittee (IRCC) with established mechanisms for consulting with SADC and also with the African Union in respect of the continental integration agenda. Amb. Sezibera currently chairs the Inter-Regional Coordinat-ing Committee (IRCC) and led the discussions with the EU and DEVCO officials. The four regional organisations COMESA, EAC, IGAD and IOC have been sharing a common regional indicative pro-



COMESA, EAC, IGAD, IOC

Conclude Joint Mission to Brussels

7

gramme. Over the 9th and 10th EDF, the combined total initial envelopes for the region exceeded EUR 1 billion. The 10th EDF shows a strong increased emphasis on regional integration, which has impacted the population of nearly six hundred million over the combined member states. The 11th EDF will remain fully consis-tent with the Cotonou principles around a single Regional Indicative Programme (RIP) while at the same time endeav-ouring to take into account certain specificities of each Regional Organisa-tion. Three sectors of support have been identified, based on the principles of subsidiarity, complementarity and cost-effectiveness, namely; peace, security and regional stability; regional economic integration; and regional natural resource management. Based on the discussions held in Brussels, all parties have agreed to refine the 11th EDF regional governance frame-work in the Eastern and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region. All parties also agreed to continue refining the core 11th EDF programming guidelines and draft Regional indicative pro-gramme. The Regional Organisations also agreed to remain the lead actors in matters of consultation of Member States through the prevailing structures and policy organs. All parties agreed to meet again on 12-15 November 2013 in Mauritius. On the sidelines of the joint mission, the four Chief Execu-tive Officers of the 4 RECs spearheaded visibility drive in the European Parliament and engaged the Press Club Brussels Europe. At the invitation of Hon. Charles Goerens, European Union Member of Parliament and also Member of the European Parliament’s Development Committee, the four RECs (COMESA, EAC, IGAD, and IOC), were allowed to set up visibility/exhibition stands inside the EU Parliament on the 17-19 September 2013 to show-case the value addition by EU in its cooperation with the RECs.

This first-ever visibility event had four themes lead by each REC as follows; Building Regional Institutions for Trade by COMESA; Building Regional Interconnections for Trade by EAC; Regional security by IGAD; and Natural Resources by IOC. The visibility events were attended by Parliamentarians, EU Commission Services, and other EU stakeholders and the media influential in the decision processes on support to the RECs. Within the ACP group of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific States, regional integration is promoted by Regional Organi-zations (ROs) such as COMESA, EAC, IGAD and IOC in the Eastern and Southern Africa - Indian Ocean (ESA-IO) region. This is also supported by the European Union, through a mechanism known as the Inter-Regional Coordinating Com-mittee (IRCC), in the context of the ACP - EU Cotonou Part-nership Agreement and the EU Agenda for Change, regional integration being an engine for growth and poverty reduc-tion. Over one billion Euros has been channeled via these Re-gional Organizations under the successive European Devel-opment Funds (EDF) to assist in building regional institu-tions, regional interconnections, enhanced peace and secu-rity and collective management of natural resources.



… Parties agree to fine-tune core 11th EDF Programming

Guidelines and draft Regional Indicative Programme

8

The First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice on 2 September 2013, dismissed a Matter filed by Alcon International Limited (Kenya) against Standard Chartered Bank Uganda Limited for not paying them for the construction of a building known as Workers House in Kampala, Uganda. Alcon International Limited (K) came to court claiming an award of $8,858,469, with interest and costs, which was made in favor of Alcon International (Uganda) by an arbitrator and adopted by the High Court of Uganda. The award arose from a contract between the Government of Uganda and Al-con International Limited (K) who later sub-contracted Alcon International Limited (U) to finish the construction of the Workers House building, leading to a dispute about which Alcon Company should be paid for the work done. Court said that, it cannot give itself jurisdiction in a case outside its jurisdiction on the ground that it would be for the convenience of the Parties and witnesses. Also Court found that there was no merit in the reference before it hence dismissed it and ordered that each party to bear their costs. EACJ First Instance Division had previously dismissed the case by Kenyan construction company, Alcon International (K) Limited, on grounds that the matter was improperly before the Court. However the Appellate Division noted that the First Instance Division did not in its ruling consider whether it had jurisdiction to entertain the matter, which was a fundamental issue which the Court had to decide on. The Applicant brought the case to court under article 29 (2) and Article 54 (2) (b) of the protocol on the establishment of the East African Community Common Market of the on protection of Investors across the border, emphasizing that the alleged sister construction company Alcon International Uganda does not exist. Also the Registrar today ruled on a preliminary objection raised by Counsel for the Respondent in a case for costs in an Appeal filed by Alcon International Limited (K) against The Standard Chartered Bank and 2 others. The Appeal was allowed and they were awarded costs to be taxed by the Registrar. The Registrar ruled that the court was not functus officio (a general rule that, a final decision of a court cannot be reopened) and that he did not make a final decision in this matter when it came up for taxation. The Registrar ordered that the matter proceeds for taxation and that the parties will be notified of the date.


EACJ dismisses Alcon International

Limited dispute

9

The East African Court of Justice First Instance Division, on 13 September 2013, concluded its 3rd quarter session for a month with another hearing of a case challenging the legality of the election of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) members from the Republic of Uganda, which was filed by Ms. Among A. Anita from opposition Party Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in Uganda against the Government of Uganda and the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC). The matter, more or less the same as that of Hon. Abdu. Katuntu from the same political party FDC. However Ms. Anita went further and challenged that the Rules of Pro-cedures of the parliament of Uganda were not gazetted before elections of the EALA members in May 30th 2012, hence an infringement of the Treaty. The Respondents (Attorney General Uganda and EAC Secretary General) with the interveners Rt. Hon. Marga-reth Nantongo Zziwa, Speaker of the East African Legis-lative Assembly and other 8 EALA Members from Uganda, all challenged the Applicant that the rules were gazzeted before election and there is no evidence for the Applicant to prove that they were not gazzeted. They also submitted that, the Applicant had gone beyond the limited jurisdiction of the Court that issues of the EALA elections are left to the National Assembly to entertain as provided in the Treaty for Establishment of the EAC. The respondents asked the Court to dismiss the refer-ence with costs.

Appearing before Court were the Applicant Anita A. Among member of the FDC opposition political party in Uganda and her advocates Mr. Kyazze Joseph and Kiiza Simon; The Attorney General of Uganda (1st Respon-dent) represented by Mr. Phili Mwaka Principal State Attorney and Kibuuka Rashid, State Attorney; the Secre-tary General EAC represented by Hon. Wilbert Kaahwa Counsel to the Community (CTC) and the Advocate for the Interveners Mr. Justice Semuyaba. The Court will deliver a judgment of this matter on notice. The Court also dismissed a case that was challenging the costs which were awarded to the Republic of Uganda, to be paid to the Democratic Party (DP) and Fred Mukasa Mbidde EALA MP who won their case in a decision of the Court, to restrain the Parliament of Uganda from holding elections until the rules were amended to conform with Article 50 (1) of the Treaty. The Taxing officer (Court Registrar) awarded USD fifteen thousand ($15,000) to be paid to the Applicant, DP and Mukasa Mbidde for the case. The First Instance Division has been able to handle a total of 24 matters this quarter including; 1 Judgment of the Alcon International Limited Kenya, 9 hearings, 8 scheduling conferences, 1 ruling and 5 taxation matters that came before the Registrar.


EACJ First Instance Division Concludes

3rd Quarter Session

10

The EAC Secretary General, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera on 13 September 2013, opened the first EAC Immunization and vaccines partner’s meeting at the EAC Headquarters. In his opening remarks, Dr. Sezibera noted that this impor-tant meeting comes at a time when the EAC integration process is including cooperation on health, quoting the EAC Treaty Chapter 21 under (Article 118), (a) with respect to co-operation in health activities; the Partner States under-take to, among others, take joint action towards the preven-tion and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases and to control pandemics and epidemics of commu-nicable and vector-borne diseases such as HIV-AIDS, cholera, malaria, hepatitis and yellow fever that might en-danger the health and welfare of the residents of the Partner States, and to co-operate in facilitating mass immunization and other public health community campaigns.

The Secretary General commended the continued collabora-tion and support from the Federal Government of Germany in the strengthening and expansion of regional integration in the EAC. He said that, “the new 20 million Euros German support for the EAC regional immunization programme will be implemented in collaboration with the GAVI Alliance con-tributing towards the implementation of the resolutions and commitments of the 2ndGAVI Alliance Partners Forum that was held in Dar es Salaam, in December 2012”. The meeting called for increased role and participation of African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to promote and support acceleration of immunization programmes in Africa, especially the introduction of new vaccines that in-clude the two that are being prioritized for support through this new German Financial contribution to the EAC - GAVI Alliance regional initiative, namely; the new vaccines against rotavirus and pneumococcal diseases.



EAC Immunization and Vaccines

Partners Meet in Arusha

11

The expansion and acceleration of the introduction of new vaccines in the EAC Partner States contributes to one of the three major goals of the East African Community Open Health Initiative (OHI) that is geared towards sharing of best practices and acceleration of “Innovations to Improve Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Outcomes” in the East African Community Partner States. EAC Partner States representatives present at the meeting reported they had accelerated programs for introducing vaccines for pneumonia (pneumococcal vaccine), Diarrhoea (Rotavirus vaccine), Human Papilloma virus vaccine (HPV) and Hepatitis B vaccine though the coverage is at varying levels. Among the challenges noted in implementing the scale up programs for vaccine are among others; 1. Cold chain management is still a challenge due to inade-quate infrastructure (storage capacity) and cold chain equipment. 2. Human capital to implement the program 3. Low immunization in hard to reach areas which are mainly in the cross boarder in nature 4. A need for proper monitoring and evaluation and data synchronization within the different vaccine programs

KwF and GAVI identified a need for global and regional coor-dination mechanisms to scale up immunization inventions also engage the countries for maximum benefit of the programs but however noted a limitation of resources for implementation. Both GAVI and UNICEF are involved in the introduction of new vaccines and UNICEF is planning to launch a new Polio vaccine in 2018. The meeting discussed the establishment of a joint Steering Committee (JSC) of the EAC Regional Immunization Pro-gramme as well as the EAC Secretariat’s participation in Na-tional Immunization Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee (ICC) meetings. Among other things the meeting echoed the need for a vaccine for Malaria because malaria is promi-nent in the region.

Present in the meeting were Dr. Klaus Mueller Director and Head of the Regional Department for West and East Africa - German Devel-opment Bank (KfW), Mr. Daniel Thornton, Director Strategic Initia-tives, GAVI Alliance Secretariat, Ms. Violaine Messager Resource Mobilization Officer at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immuni-zation (GAVI Alliance), Dr. Thomas Walter - Senior Advisor Industri-alization, TRIPS and Pharmaceutical Sector Promotion, EAC-GIZ Programme on Regional Integration (Arusha, Tanzania, Dr. Wesley Ronoh - Senior Regional Advisor, Industrialisation and Pharmaceuti-cal Sector Promotion, EAC-GIZ Regional Integration Programme (Arusha, Tanzania), Dr. Nasir Yusuf, Regional Immunization Ad-viser, UNICEF Regional Office for Eastern & Southern Africa (ESARO), Ms. Joyce Kevin Abalo, Coordinator, East African Health Platform (EAHPF), EAC Partner States’ National Immunization Man-agers, Heads of Child Health Departments and National Vaccine Cold Chain Logistics Coordinators and EAC Secretariat Staff.



… New 20 million Euros German support to boost regional

immunization program

12


Your perception of the EAC and how you view the effectiveness of EAC’s communication are very impor-tant for our future endeavors to serve you and the rest of the commu-nity even better, as well as to strengthen our brand and our identity. Therefore, we are conducting a brand survey encouraging all external stakeholders and all employees at EAC Organs, Institu-tions and Ministries to raise their voice by participating in an online survey. You are all in the target group In short, the online survey consists of an internal sur-vey for EAC employees and one for all external stake-holders such as people in businesses, organi-zations and media, civil servants, the youth, development partners and last but not least the general public. In other words, the survey targets all East Africans and partners no matter rank, position and knowledge level of the EAC. All responses are valuable. Besides the online surveys, personal interviews have been conducted with citizens in all five partner states. Choose between three languages You will find that the survey is available in three lan-guages, namely English, French and Swahili. Though, the one for EAC employees is in English only. Help us share the survey When conducting an online survey like this, e-mails and social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are powerful tools to spread the word and provide direct access to survey links. Many individuals, organizations and embassies have supported us by sharing the survey already but we encourage even more to help. It is quickly done via for instance w w w . e a c . i n t o r w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /proudlyeastafrican. Both display the survey on the front page. The more stones we throw in the water, the more ripples we create. What next? To everyone who already contributed, we thank you very much for your support. If you have not yet taken the survey, we encourage you to hit the keyboard and help us move the East African region towards a brighter tomorrow by airing your views. The survey results will be published in 2014 when we have processed and analyzed all the data. We look forward to sharing them with you. The brand survey is carried out with the support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

How to participate in the survey On a general note, it only takes 8 to 10 minutes to complete the questionnaire and your response is totally anonymous. I am an external stakeholder to the EAC Enter the survey via one of these links depending on your preferred language.

English | French | Swahili You can also enter the survey via www.eac.int or websites and social media pages of most of the EAC Institutions, Ministries and apex organizations. I work at an EAC Organ, Institution or Ministry Then you have received a personal invitation to participate from the EAC Secretary General. However, it is also possible to complete the survey via this general link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EACInternalBrandSurvey Staff without an e-mail address can also use this link or they can choose to fill in a hard copy version available at all EAC offices. Please note that the survey will run into October.

Let Us Know How

You Perceive the EAC

13

The East African Community Secretariat is among the several Exhibitors at the ongoing Nairobi International Trade Fair taking place 29th September to 6th October 2013 at the Jamhuri Park/Agricultural Society of Kenya show grounds in Nairobi, Kenya. The Secre-tariat is showcasing the projects and pro-grammes in the regional integration process and the achievements being made by the various Organs of the Community. The Secretariat will also take part in the sec-ond EAC Private Sector Day being organized by the East African Business Council (EABC) on 4 October 2013. The second EAC Private Sector Day is set aside to celebrate the re-gional integration process and to showcase businesses at the forefront of taking advan-tage of the process.

The first EAC Private Sector Day was held on 5 October 2012. The 2nd EAC Private Sector Day will bring together public officials and business leaders to celebrate the integration process and appreciate private sector players that have embraced the integration process. The EABC has also organized a regional net-working breakfast meeting with trade facilita-tion agencies from Kenya. At the same time, the EAC Secretariat will be participating in the Uganda International Trade Fair, which opens its doors to the public from 5 to 12 October 2013.


EAC Showcases Regional Integration

Achievements

14


EAC Update e-newsletter is published by the Department of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs

East African Community (EAC) | P.O. Box 1096 | Arusha - Tanzania.

www.eac.int For further information please contact:

Richard Owora Othieno, Head of Department | Email: [email protected] | Tel: +255 784 835021

Visit the EAC Web Portal at http://www.eac.int to read these and more stories online. You can also download the EAC Newsletter by logging onto http://www.news.eac.int

Editorial Team: Owora Richard Othieno; Aileen Mallya; Bobi Odiko; Florian Mutabazi;

Belinda Wera; Damaris Wambui; J.R.Luwali (Photographer ) & Mukhtar Abdul Bolyao (Photographer)

nl - 09 - 2013 e-newsletter - 30 s… · e-eac eac update issue no 74 30 september 2013 newsletter....

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