…the Sitting is a first for the regional Assembly in the designate capital
East African Legislative Assembly, Dodoma, 9th April, 2018: The
East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) has commenced its sitting in
Dodoma, United Republic of Tanzania. The Sitting which is the fourth
meeting of the first Session of the fourth Assembly takes place from
today (April 9th 2018) and runs through to 28th of
April 2018. This is the first time the regional Assembly which embraces
a rotational principle in holding its meetings in the Partner States,
is sitting in Dodoma.
The
Assembly is to be presided over by Speaker, Rt Hon Ngoga K. Martin.
H.E. President Dr John Pombe Joseph Magufuli is expected to address the
Assembly at a Special Sitting at a date to be communicated next week.
The
Assembly shall also deliberate on a number of key issues over the
three-week period. Bills and resolutions are expected to be brought
before Plenary. A number of Committee undertakings are also expected –
particularly on scrutiny of Bills in preparation for the forthcoming
public hearings. Currently, there are two key Bills that are pertinent
to the Monetary Union Protocol.
These
are the EAC Monetary Institute Bill, 2017 and the EAC Statistics Bureau
Bill, 2017, both of which were introduced by the Chair of the Council
of Ministers, Rt Hon Dr Ali Kirunda Kivenjija at the 2ndMeeting of the 1st Session held in Kampala, Uganda, in January 2018 and sailed through the First Reading.
The
object of the EAC Monetary Institute Bill, 2017, is to provide for the
establishment of the East African Monetary Institute as an institution
of the Community responsible for preparatory work for the EAC Monetary
Union. In accordance with Article 23 of the Protocol on the EAC
Monetary Union, the Bill is expected to provide for the functions,
governance and funding for the Institute as well as other related
matters.
Closely
related to the EAMI Bill is the EAC Statistics Bureau Bill, 2017, which
also seeks to establish the Statistics Bureau as an Institution of the
Community under Article 9 of the Treaty and Article 21 of the Protocol
on Establishment of the EAC Monetary Union. The Bill provides for the
functions, powers, governance and its funding with a view to
establishing an institution responsible for statistics in a bid to
support the East African Monetary Union.
The
Council of Ministers for EAC is thus expected to meet with the
Committees to thrash out key matters on both Bills. The EALA Committee
on Communications, Trade and Investment shall at a later date engage
with stakeholders on the EAC Statistics Bureau Bill, 2017 while the EAC
Monetary Institute Bill, 2017 will be handled by the General Purpose
Committee.
Furthermore,
the Assembly will also interact with various stakeholders and other
citizens in Dodoma in a move anticipated to collect views to effectively
undertake its mandate and enhance its representation mandate.
The
entire Government of the United Republic of Tanzania is expected to
move to the designate capital of Dodoma by 2019. As at the end of 2017,
the Prime Ministers Office and several Ministries had already settled
in Dodoma.
The
decision to relocate the capital was made by the founding President
Julius Nyerere in 1973 with the aim of bringing government services
closer to the people – given the City’s central location.
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