EAC Presidents to inaugurate major infrastructure projects

The East African Community Heads of State will meet in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on November 30 for the 14th Ordinary Summit where they are expected to discuss different regional projects.Before the summit, the EAC Heads of State will travel to Tanzania to officially open the new EAC Headquarters in Arusha, commission the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River road both events will take place on November 28.The EAC Secretariat, the East African Legislative Assembly and the East African Court of Justice have been using rented facilities since the Community was revived in 1999.The three organs of the bloc were housed in the Arusha International Conference Centre. The new building was financed by the German Government and it will be hosting all the three EAC Organs based in Arusha.The Presidents, while in Nairobi, are expected to discuss financing of infrastructure projects, where different regional priority infrastructural projects in energy, and transport sectors will be outlined, according to a statement from the EAC Secretariat.Bill Kayonga, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community, told The New Times that during the summit, the regional leaders will receive reports by the EAC Council of Ministers highlighting the implementation status of the regional activities over the last one year.“They will receive a report of the verification team on the application of the Republic of South Sudan ; the EAC secretariat will also present a model of the structure of political federation and action plan on the way forward,” he said.South Sudan, which was recently admitted to the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region, is widely expected to be eventually admitted to the five-nation EAC given its proximity.Other issues on the agenda of the Summit include consideration of the application of Somalia to join the Community, progress reports on monetary union negotiations as well as single customs territory.During the summit, Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is expected to take over the rotational chairmanship of the summit from the current Kenyan Mwai Kibaki.

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EAC Presidents to inaugurate major infrastructure projects