EAC TO ALTER PROTOCOLS OF TWO KEY BODIES

EAC TO ALTER PROTOCOLS OF TWO KEY BODIES

BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

The East African Community (EAC) is set to amend protocols on the establishment of its two institutions. 

The proposed amendments will touch on Kiswahili and Science and Technology Commissions, both of which were operationalized in 2015.

The exercise is believed to have been necessitated by the expansion of the bloc, among other factors. EAC currently has eight member states.

The Arusha-based secretariat has been directed to expedite the proposed amendments and circulate them to the partner states. 

Although the plan was rolled out a while ago, only Rwanda has submitted its comments on the proposed changes for the EA Kiswahili Commission.

The EAC Council of Ministers, a powerful organ of the Community, says it was concerned by failure by other member states to act on the matter.

"Part of the implications of this is that the EAKC does't have a governing board, a situation that leads to serious delays in implementation of activities", it said. 

EAKC is an EAC institution responsible for the promotion of the development and use of Kiswahili as the region's lingua franca. 

The Zanzibar-based Commission fulfils its mandate through policy formulation, knowledge development and curriculum reviews. 

Amendments have also been proposed for the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO) which operates from Kigali, Rwanda.

A team of legal experts and specialists on science and technology from within the region was tasked to undertake the job.

Unlike the case of the Kiswahili Commission,a draft of revised amendments for the Science Commission protocol are out. 

If approved and implemented, they can significantly change the way the institution operates and probably reduce red tape.

Among the proposals contained in the revised protocol were to reduce the size of EASTECO board members to 13 from 44 members. 

The functions of the Governing Board were specified and separated from the functions of the Commission. 

According to the recently-held meeting of the Council of Ministers, errors, omissions and inconsistencies of the existing protocol were rectified. 

The revised protocol, approved by the ministerial sectoral committee in June last year, has been forwarded to experts for legal inputs.

EASTECO is mandated to promote and coordinate the development, management and application of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in the bloc.

Development, management and application of science and technology to support regional integration and socio-economic development.