KIGALI - The Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, arrived in the country yesterday to attend a high level strategy retreat on making the East African Community (EAC) a more effective organisation. Masire-Mwamba was invited to Rwanda by the EAC Secretariat to preside over the retreat. She will be in the country for four days. According to a media statement from the Commonwealth Secretariat, Masire-Mwamba, will make a presentation on Commonwealth experiences on the coordination and implementation of programmes. The statement quotes her as saying, “The Commonwealth is pleased to have been invited to participate in the Retreat and to share our experiences. I look forward to learning from the EAC, as much as I will share Commonwealth experiences. This helps to strengthen the relationship between the two organisations.”
KIGALI - The Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, arrived in the country yesterday to attend a high level strategy retreat on making the East African Community (EAC) a more effective organisation.
Masire-Mwamba was invited to Rwanda by the EAC Secretariat to preside over the retreat. She will be in the country for four days.
According to a media statement from the Commonwealth Secretariat, Masire-Mwamba, will make a presentation on Commonwealth experiences on the coordination and implementation of programmes.
The statement quotes her as saying, "The Commonwealth is pleased to have been invited to participate in the Retreat and to share our experiences. I look forward to learning from the EAC, as much as I will share Commonwealth experiences. This helps to strengthen the relationship between the two organisations.”
Masire-Mwamba’s arrival to Rwanda is of great interest not only to the EAC but also to Rwanda that is in the final stages of the bid to join the bloc.
Masire-Mwamba took office as Commonwealth Deputy Secretary General on June 2, last year.
She is in charge of the Political Affairs, Human Rights, Youth Affairs, Human Resources and the Legal and the Constitutional Affairs Divisions.
The Rwandan government has facilitated the first ever retreat for all institutions under the community, which is slated to begin tomorrow and end Tuesday February 10.
All senior officials from all institutions affiliated to the EAC are expected to attend.
Kagame has in the past hinted at Rwanda’s willingness to bring together these institutions in an effort of improving working partnerships between the organs.
Rwanda assumed the rotational chairmanship of the regional bloc last year, barely months after her accession to the five-nation body with Kagame, taking over the helm as chairperson of the EAC.
Rwanda and Burundi became members of the EAC in 2007 which expanded the bloc to five member states with a population estimated at over 120 million. The original members are Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
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