EAC MINISTRIES ON THE SPOTLIGHT AGAIN

Ministries holding the East African Community (EAC) docket were in the spotlight again last week during a regional meeting.

Media practitioners at the Summit Retreat  concurred that the departments were yet  to deliver effectively on the regional integration issues.

"They have not yet played their role well leaving the responsibility to the secretariat", they said during a meeting of the editors and senior journalists.

The role of the media in the EAC integration was a segment of the High Level Retreat of the EAC leaders which took place in Arusha last Thursday ahead of the Summit on Friday.

Although they acknowledged low public sensitization on the benefits of the EAC, fingers were pointed at the EAC ministries in the partner states.

"These ministries are much closer to the masses than the EAC secretariat in Arusha or the EAC institutions located in the capital cities.

"They should be most relied upon in relaying the integration agenda to the people. That is their prime mandate", they pointed out.

This was not the first time that the role of the EAC ministries in the partner states has been put on the radar during the regional gatherings.

The issue has been raised countless times at the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) and other fora that they have not done enough of what they are supposed to do. 

The EAC ministries in the partner states form the EAC of Ministers, a powerful organ of the Community responsible for policy and budget matters.

Several recommendations were made at the meeting held at the EAC seat included the creation of the East African Media Council and the EA Editors' Guild.

Ms Flaviana Businge, a senior official of the Arusha-based secretariat said the EAC was ready to support the media houses in sensitizing the public on the economic benefits of the bloc.

She cited non tariff barriers (NTBs) as among the challenges hindering cross border trade,noting that efforts to eliminate them have not been entirely successful.

Ms Anna Nabaasa, a communication officer with the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) said it was ready to team up with the private sector in selling the EAC agenda.

Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala from Tanzania said time was running and that the recommendations by the editors were to be taken directly to the regional leaders for action

A multiple of other speakers observed that the drawbacks facing the bloc were not necessarily the funding constraints but lack of good will of some partner states to integrate.