The East African Community (EAC) has embarked on a process of addressing the numerous challenges that have for years hampered good governance among the five partner states.

This was revealed yesterday by an EAC senior official at the opening ceremony of the first Annual Conference on Good Governance which is underway in the Tanzanian Capital Dar es Salaam.

Among the challenges as outlined by EAC Deputy Secretary General Beatrice Kiraso is political instability, mismanagement of public resources, abuse of human rights undemocratic practices and misuse of public office for private gains.

Kiraso, who is the deputy Secretary General in charge of political federation said  these challenges will be addressed by the regional framework on good governance that is currently being developed by the EAC Secretariat.

Speaking at the  opening ceremony  of the three-day meeting, Kiraso said that the development  of the regional  framework  on good governance and anti-corruption is one of the interventions  not only to address challenges of good governance in the region but also  lay a foundation for  the ultimate goal of  regional integration , the political federation.

"These challenges are a recipe for instability and insecurity and a deterrent to our integration process,” she said.

She added that while economic integration is necessary, it is not sufficient to enable the region consolidate the gains and ensure mechanisms for equitable distribution of benefits from the integration.

In absence of such a mechanism she said, disparity in the levels of development, economic benefits will continue to grow but inequitably.

"If we tackle the issue of good governance with commitment and focus, I have no doubt that we will attract a critical mass of people working towards securing a stable East Africa,” she said.

In an interview with The New Times, Rose Mukantabana, the Speaker of the Rwandan chamber of Deputies who is also attending the regional conference noted that there is need to have a common understanding on good governance to facilitate regional integration.

"Good governance is a key issue for integration. The two concepts must go hand in hand because regional integration should be people centred and private sector driven, "she said.

Mukantabana also observed that while Rwanda has already taken centre stage in the region for good governance practices due to the good leadership that has concentrated on rebuilding the country through emphasizing peace, unity and reconciliation, there is need to continue consolidating what has been achieved and enhance it.

She cited last year’s Parliamentary elections that were characterised as peaceful by the thousands of independent observers and saw women winning majority of the seats.

The Speaker also cited decentralization and other programmes such as Ubedehe and Imihigo as some of the initiatives introduced by the Rwandan government to promote accountability to the people and among the initiatives that attest Rwanda’s good governance practices.

"Rwanda is seen as a case study for good governance in the region because of what we have achieved in a very short time compared to our troubled past with the Genocide. But this is not enough, we must continue to even improve what we already have by learning some of the good practice from other partner states,” she said.

The comprehensive regional framework will comprise of four pillars which will include promoting democracy and harmonization of democratization processes; promotion and protection of human rights and equal opportunities; preventing and combating corruption, enhancing ethics and Integrity; and upholding the rule of law and justice. 

The framework is expected to be adopted by the five member states as a protocol ahead of the East African political federation.

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