EALA Backs East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project
Today, November 4, 2022, at the Rwandan Parliament's Chamber of Deputies in Kigali, Rwanda, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the Fourth Assembly has concluded.
EALA Backs East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project
Today, November 4, 2022, at the Rwandan Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies in Kigali, Rwanda, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the Fourth Assembly has concluded.
The meeting’s agenda was comprehensive but doable, and it has kept the Members interested for the past two weeks.
The Assembly voted to support the project to build an East African crude oil pipeline (EACOP). James Kakooza, an honorable, made the motion.
The august House sought to demonstrate its support for the Partner States’ benefiting EACOP project through the passage of this Motion.
Additionally, it urged anyone who had been wronged by the EACOP project—individuals or communities—to always take their grievances up with their rightful representatives in the National Assemblies or file a petition with the EALA.
His Excellency President Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda, graced the Assembly’s Special Sitting on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, when it was on assignment in Kigali.
The President lamented the current underfunding that is harming the Community and delaying the implementation of projects and programs while emphasizing the necessity for the EAC Partner States to collaborate to create a sustainable finance model.
Members of EALA repeated the opinions regarding alternative funding during a discussion of the Report of the Committee on Accounts on the EAC Audited Financial Statement for the year ending June 30, 2020. They exhorted the EAC Council of Ministers to put this alternative finance mechanism into action and to fully assume responsibility over the development initiatives that will guide the Community toward the full implementation of its integration goal.
His Excellency the President cited the construction of the East African Monetary Institute, which is years behind schedule, while urging the Community to expedite the fulfillment of objectives set out to achieve the four pillars of integration.
EAC Monitoring
The EALA moved quickly to pass the EAC Surveillance, Compliance and Enforcement Commission Bill, 2022 in response to this call.
In accordance with Article 21(b) of the Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Monetary Union, the Bill creates the EAC Surveillance, Compliance and Enforcement Commission. The EAC Surveillance, Compliance and Enforcement Commission’s roles, authorities, and administrative frameworks are also covered by the bill.
It is important to note that during the transition to the Monetary Union, this Commission will work to ensure that all Partner States meet the macroeconomic convergence criteria. The Assembly will work to make sure that the Community’s goal of having a single currency is realized rather than being a mirage.
Another bill that was approved by EALA during the Kigali plenary session is the EAC Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2022. The bill gives the EAC Secretary General the right to appropriate $2,600,20,008, or $2,000,000 USD, from the Community’s budget to cover additional expenses for the Organs of the Community for the fiscal year that ends on June 30, 2023.
The EALA has consistently examined the Community’s Audited Financial Reports in accordance with its statutory duty to ensure accountability in the use of its resources. The Audited EAC Financial Statements for the Financial Year Ended 30th June 2020 were the subject of this plenary’s scrutiny, discussion, and adoption by the Assembly.
Members of EALA had some time to relax and take in the calm surroundings of Kigali City, which was named the world’s cleanest city in 2018 by the head of the UN Environment Program, Eric Solheim, due to both the absence of street litter and green initiatives. They also had the honor of seeing the Umuganda Initiative, which is an attempt by the neighborhood communities to clean the City of Kigali, in action.
The Fourth Assembly will have its final plenary session from December 2 to December 17, 2022, at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The Fifth Assembly will then take over, beginning with its first session on December 18, 2022.
