CYCLISTS TOLD TO MARKET EAC INTEGRATION AGENDA

 BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

Cyclists have been urged to market the East African integration agenda to its owners; the ordinary people of the region.

The appeal was made in Arusha last week by the secretary general of the East African Community (EAC)  Dr. Peter Mathuki.

He was flagging off 22 cyclists riding bicycles across five of the seven member states of the union.

The cyclists are participating in the 2023 edition of the Great African Cycling Safari (GACS) which will take them to Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. 

In Tanzania, the tour will take them to Tanga, Dar es Salaam and Dodoma before heading to Burundi.

The entire tour which started on August 1st,will cover a total of 1,000 kilometres by the time it ends in Uganda mid next month. 

They were flagged off in Jinja, Uganda. The 22 cyclists are expected to be joined by at least 1,000 bike riders at different stages in the countries they visit. .

The annual cycling tour is held purposely to sensitise East Africans on the EAC integration process beside promoting other issues surrounding the integration. 

This year the focus is on promoting efforts to boost food security and mitigating the effect of climate change.

Flagging off the cyclists at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Dr. Mathuki said that the GACS was an excellent opportunity to market the EAC integration. 

“The purpose of this cycling safari is for the cyclists to create awareness around the integration by sensitising the communities on the itinerary of the bike tour even as they interact with them. 

"The cycling tour is in tandem with the wishes of the Summit of EAC Heads of State who have been keen on taking the integration to the people at the grassroots,” the EAC boss added.

Dr. Mathuki further hailed the cyclists for using the safari to sensitise East Africans on the importance of promoting food security, ecological restoration and climate change, tourism, gender and human rights.

Speaking at the event, the Deputy Programme Manager of the EAC-GIZ Programme, Mr. Max Middeke, noted that climate change had had a negative impact on the food security situation in the region.

“Droughts and floods are becoming more frequent, and farmers, especially small-scale ones, are struggling to produce crops in these unpredictable conditions. 

The GIZ official said the situation calls for urgent actions by all to respond to the devastating effects of climate on food security to address the alarming situation.

Mr. Middeke said that the EAC-GIZ Programme has a long history of partnership and support with the cyclist since its establishment in 2016 when they made their first historic tour-de EAC as they promoted tourism in East Africa.

“We are happy that the Great African Cyclist Safari and its mission to promote sustainable socio-economic development, community development, and healthy lifestyles in East Africa have continued to date. 

"The GACs promote people-centred integration through awareness creation on climate change and food security,” he added.

“They engage in activities such as tree planting to conserve the environment and community and school dialogue as they cycle across the EAC Partner States", he went on.

 The cyclists have planted over 2,500 trees and established school and community clubs on climate in East Africa.

In his remarks, the GACS Tour Lead and Organiser, Mr. John Barongo, said that by rallying around well picked themes that hint on economics and livelihoods of EAC Citizens, the tour would preserve the future of the integration by getting people to own the process.

“We are very committed to evangelising the EAC integration agenda around East Africa on our Two Wheels. 

"We therefore appeal to your good office to support the project morally, financially, and materially. Additionally, we ask that this event be included in the EAC`s annual calendar of activities as one of the projects that support the EAC work,” said Mr. Balongo.

“This will ensure its visibility and reach a wider audience and will not only help us garner more support but also showcase the EAC's commitment to promoting sustainable initiatives in E. Africa. 

"We further ask the Secretariat and Partner States to recognise these young people for representing their countries in the region by flying their flags,” he added.