EAC Ministers and Permanent secretaries yesterday began discussions ahead of tomorrow’s Heads of State Summit, on the nominated EAC Deputy Secretary Generals, among other issues.

The EAC Secretariat has already received nominations for the post of Deputy Secretary General from Rwanda and Burundi.

Rwanda nominated Alloys Mutabingwa for the position, while Burundi nominated Jean Claude Nsengiyumva for the same post.
Mutabingwa has been hitherto Rwanda’s representative at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) which is also based in Arusha.
By press time yesterday, the acting Head of the EAC Communication department, Owora Richard Othieno, said the coordination committee, a more technical group, had okayed the nomination of the Deputy Secretary Generals.
"The permanent secretaries have recommended to the Council of Ministers to consider the nomination of the Deputy Secretary Generals and to also renew the contract of Beatrice Kiraso as Deputy Secretary General,” he said.
Kiraso is the current EAC Secretary General in charge of Political Federation.
The idea of the new EAC deputies was mooted during the 7th Extra-ordinary Summit held in October last year which endorsed the decisions of the Council of Ministers to split the position of Deputy Secretary General (Projects and Programmes) into two.
These would be; Deputy Secretary General (Planning and Infrastructure) and Deputy Secretary General (Productive and Social Sectors).
The summit further directed that one of these positions shall immediately be filled by the incumbent Deputy Secretary General through re-designation.
The other position would be filled by one of the new partner states, that is, Rwanda or Burundi through appointment upon expiry of the initial contracts of two Deputy Secretaries General which expire this month.
Apart from the nominations of the EAC Deputy Secretary Generals, the meetings are also considering the annual progress report of the Council of Ministers to the Summit and the consideration of a proposal for the supplementary budget for the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
Other pertinent EAC issues that are being discussed by the senior officials, permanent secretaries and ministers are; consideration of the draft Common Market protocol and consideration of a proposal for supplementary budget for merging of the three presented East Africa Community Anthems into one. 
Rwanda is the current chair of the regional bloc with President Paul Kagame chairing the Heads of State Summit.

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