EAC integration should not be taken for granted – President

NYARUGENGE - President Paul Kagame has called upon stakeholders in the East African Community not to take the ongoing integration for granted if fruits are to be reaped from the initiative. He said this yesterday at Kigali Serena Hotel while presiding over the opening of the fourth East African Inter-Parliamentary Relations Seminar, commonly known as Nanyuki. “Integration cannot be taken for granted. Its success needs constant nurturing and it needs championing from all the players in this process,” said the President, who is also the current Chairperson of the regional bloc. At the seminar, each of the five member states is represented by 15 members of their respective National Assemblies. “As Members of Parliament, together with the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), you have a vital role to play in determining the kind of Community our region wants,” he said. “You are duty-bound to inform and educate your respective constituencies about the common good the Community has for its people,” the President added. Citing the example of the difference in levels of commitment from different players, he said that despite the considerable milestones the integration process has realized, a few challenges still remain. Also in attendance were representatives from the Economic Commission for Western African States (ECOWAS) Parliament whose participation was lauded by the Head of State. “This means the integration process has taken a Pan-African perspective which is imperative since we cannot afford to operate in isolation from the continent,” he said. The seminar takes place following the second session of the EALA which was also held in Kigali since early last month. Kagame said that the presence of the regional parliamentarians during this period played a significant role of making Rwandans feel much more integrated in the bloc. The president also lauded the theme of the seminar: ‘EAC from Customs Union to the Common Market: Prospects and Challenges’, saying that it was timely. In his remarks, the Speaker of the EALA, Abdirahin Haithar Abdi, said that the seminar marked the fulfillment of the EAC treaty which binds EALA to always liaise with National Assemblies of Partner States on all matters related to the Community. “It is my hope therefore that at the end of this seminar, you will be able to reflect and examine how much influence, if any, Parliaments might have had so far in the current EAC agenda,” he said. Among the topics to be discussed in the three-day seminar is the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EAC and the European Union, a topic Abdi said was critical. “The need for a big market is no longer debatable because it is a matter of whether we will survive or perish…no country has developed without access to a big market,” Abdi underscored. He, however, said that the signing of the EPAs has had its challenges amongst which is the EAC’s ability to compete with the more developed European economies. Abdi also told participants that the EAC has developed a very cordial relationship with ECOWAS, whose parliamentary members were also in attendance. Ends