The 10th ordinary summit of the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State will deliberate on the progress of EAC Common Market negotiations among others. A statement from the EAC Secretariat says that the five Heads of State are expected to decide on the three outstanding issues that the High Level Task Force (HLTF) failed to reach a consensus on. The issues include national identification and the access and use of land for economic activities, where Tanzania has persistently failed to agree with other states. All the partner states bracketed the permanent residence Article 19, which lays a foundation on the conditions and length of residence of non-citizens among others. However disagreements were on whether, it is the partner states or the EAC Ministerial Council to conclude regulations or directives and annexes that are necessary to give full effect to the provisions of the Protocol. The deliberation by Heads of State comes after the regional Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs last week streamlined all legal issues in the draft document. “This was paving way discussions by the Heads of state,” the statement said in part. The 20th Extra-Ordinary meeting of the Council of the Ministers was also held at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) to prepare for the Heads of State summit. The summit at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge, Arusha is also considering among others the report of the National Consultations on Fast Tracking the East African Political Federation. Ends
