Kenya has requested that the construction of the multi-million dollar modern East African Community (EAC) office complex be put on hold, The New Times has learnt.

Kenya presented its position during a Council of Ministers meeting held in Arusha, Tanzania, last Friday, a move that has since sparked speculation on the intentions of the proposal.

Kenya made the request on the grounds that historically at the time the headquarters were established in Arusha, it was believed that Tanzania was located at the centre of the region.

A belief Kenya now contends has lost significance since Rwanda and Burundi became full members of the bloc.

The German government has already provided EUR14 million for the construction of the headquarters, located next to the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), believed to begin later this year.

This would save the secretariat of the $450,000 it pays to the AICC in annual rentals.

However, sources told The New Times that Kenya’s request, was based on its displeasure with the pace of negotiations on the EAC Common Market Protocol, blaming Tanzania for dragging its feet in the conclusion of the discussions.

"My interpretation of Kenya’s stand was that the construction be put on hold until Tanzania has shown full commitment to regional integration matters that include negotiations on the Common Market Protocol. This will be its only qualification to host the headquarters,” a highly placed source who attended the meeting said.   

Despite reports by Tanzanian media that Rwanda has supported Kenya’s position on the suspension of the secretariat’s office construction, the Minister of East African Community Monique Mukaruliza, dismissed these reports as baseless.

"That is not true at all. Rwanda did not show any support for any particular Partner State on this matter,” Mukaruliza who is also the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, a policy organ of the EAC said.

Authentic sources also indicated that Rwanda did not support Kenya’s stand because it did not have a position at the time.

Observers have decried the slow pace in establishing a common market in the region, calling for urgent measures to address the stumbling blocks.

The eighth round of the Common Market Protocol negotiations, began yesterday in the Burundian capital of Bujumbura.

EAC currently has its headquarters at the AICC, which also served as the headquarters of the former EAC, until its collapse in 1977.

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