Theme: EAC Enlargement for Peace, Security, Stability And Development of the East African Region

Transcription

1 COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE TH EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT OF EAC HEADS OF STATE 5 TH Theme: EAC Enlargement for Peace, Security, Stability And Development of the East African Region KAMPALA SERENA HOTEL, KAMPALA, UGANDA 18 TH JUNE 2007 EAC SECRETARIAT ARUSHA, TANZANIA JUNE, 2007 EAC SECRETARIAT, P.O. BOX 1096, ARUSHA, TANZANIA TEL: /8 FAX: WEBSITE ADDRESS: eac@eachq.org

2 THE 5 TH EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY HEADS OF STATE WAS HELD IN A WARM AND CORDIAL ATMOSPHERE UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF H.E. YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA AND CHAIRPERSON OF THE EAC SUMMIT OF HEADS OF STATE, IN KAMPALA, UGANDA ON 18 TH JUNE THE SUMMIT WAS ATTENDED BY THE FOLLOWING HEADS OF STATE: H.E YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA H.E. MWAI KIBAKI, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA; H.E. JAKAYA MRISHO KIKWETE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA; H.E PAUL KAGAME, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF RWANDA; AND H.E. PIERRE NKURUNZIZA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI. THE FOLLOWING PLENIPOTENTIARY ATTENDED THE SUMMIT: H.E ABDULSALAM AL-TIKIRI, MINISTER FOR AFRICAN UNION AFFAIRS, THE GREAT SOCIALIST PEOPLE S LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA THE FOLLOWING DIGNITARIES REPRESENTED THEIR ORGANIZATIONS AT THE SUMMIT: DR. MAXWELL MKWEZELAMBA, COMMISSIONER FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS OF THE AFRICAN UNION; MR. ERASTUS M.O MWENCHA, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA; MR. TANKI MOPHAE, DIRECTOR OF POLITICS, DEFENCE AND SECURITY AFFAIRS OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICA DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY; DR. ATTALA HAMAD BASHIR, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY ON DEVELOPMENT; MR. G. ONYANGO, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE NORTHERN CORRIDOR TRANSIT TRANSPORT COORDINATION AUTHORITY; 1

3 AMBASADOR LIBERATA MULAMULA, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE GREAT LAKES REGION..THE FOLLOWING REPRESENTED EAC ORGANS AND INSTITUTIONS: HON. MR. JUSTICE MOIJO M. OLE KEIWUA, JUDGE PRESIDENT OF THE EAST AFRICAN COURT OF JUSTICE; RT. HON. ABDIRAHIN HAITHAR ABDI, SPEAKER OF THE EAST AFRICAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY; MR. GODFREY TUMUSIIME, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE EAST AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK; PROF. CHACHA NYAIGOTTI-CHACHA, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE INTER-UNIVERSITY COUNCIL FOR EAST AFRICA; MR. THOMAS MAEMBE, EXECUTIVE SECRTETARY OF THE LAKE VICTORIA FISHERIES ORGANIZATION; DR. TOM OKIA OKURUT, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE LAKE VICTORIA BASIN COMMISSION. THE FOLLOWING REPRESENTED THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN EAST AFRICA: MR. ARUN DEVANI, CHAIRPERSON OF THE EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL AND MR. CHARLES MBOGORI, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL. 2

4 H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda took over the chairmanship of the Summit from H.E Mwai Kibaki, President of the Republic of Kenya following which the Summit: RECEIVED the Report of the Council of Ministers for the period 1 st December 2006 to 15 th June 2007 and NOTED with satisfaction progress being made in the EAC integration process with specific reference to the following: ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI AND THE REPUBLIC OF RWANDA INTO THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY RECALLING its earlier decision of 30 th November 2006 to admit the Republic of Burundi and the Republic of Rwanda as full Members of the East African Community effective from 1 st July, 2007 after the conclusion of Treaties of Accession; NOTING that the negotiation process had been finalized at Ministerial level for both the Republic of Burundi and the Republic of Rwanda on the Treaties of Accession; SIGNED, subsequent to recommendation by the EAC Council of Ministers, of the Treaties of Accession with the Republic of Burundi and the Republic of Rwanda respectively; WARMLY WELCOMED and CONGRATULATED the Republic of Burundi and the Republic of Rwanda upon becoming full Members of the East African Community with effect from 1 st July, 2007; OPERATIONALIZATION OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION OF THE EAST AFRICAN COURT OF JUSTICE RECALLING the decision made during the 8 th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State in November 2006 to reconstitute the East African Court of Justice by establishing two 3

5 divisions, namely a Court of First Instance with jurisdiction as per present Article 23 of the Treaty and an Appellate Division with appellate powers over the Court of First Instance; FURTHER RECALLING the decision of the Summit at its 4 th Extraordinary Meeting held in Nairobi on 14 th December, 2006 to adopt the proposals by the Council of Ministers for amendment of some provisions of Chapter Eight of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community for this purpose; NOTING that upon ratification of these amendments by the EAC Partner States the same had been brought into force with effect from 16 th March, 2007 when the last instrument of ratification was deposited with the Secretary General of the East African Community; APPROVED the operationalization of the re-constituted of the East African Court of Justice with effect from 1st July 2007 AGREED that, in the interim period pending full establishment, the re-constituted Court of Justice will have five Judges in each of the Divisions. In this connection, each Partner State should re-designate and appoint one of the current Judges of the East African Court of Justice to the Appellate Division. ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTITUTIONS OF THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY NOTED WITH SATISFACTION the Report of the Council of Ministers that Protocols establishing the following Institutions of the East African Community had been approved and signed: (a) (b) (c) The East African Science and Technology Commission; The East African Civil Aviation Safety and Oversight Agency; The East African Kiswahili Commission; and 4

6 (d) The East African Health Research Commission. ESTABLISHED the above mentioned bodies as Institutions of the East African Community and DIRECTED their immediate operationalization. CONSTITUTION OF THE SECOND EAST AFRICAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY NOTED THAT following successful elections in Kenya, the Second East African Legislative Assembly had been duly constituted and 31 of its Members were sworn in on 5 th June, 2007; NOTED FURTHER that the tenure of the Second East African Legislative Assembly that commenced on 5 th June 2007 would run up to 4 th June 2012; CONGRATULATED the Speaker and the Hon. Members of the East African Legislative Assembly upon their election to represent the people of East Africa in the August House. NOTED WITH APPRECIATION the Legislative Programme set for the Assembly during fiscal year that will include consideration of the following Bills to be introduced by the EAC Council of Ministers: (e) The Lake Victoria Transport Bill, 2007; (f) The Lake Victoria Basin Commission Bill, 2007; (g) The Summit (Delegation of Powers and Functions) Bill, 2007; (h) The East African Community Customs Management Act (Amendment) Bill, 2007; (i) The East African Community Appropriations Bill, 2007; (j) The East African Community Supplementary Appropriations Bill, 2007; (k) The East African Science and Technology Commission Bill, 2007; 5

7 (l) The East African Civil Aviation Safety and Oversight Agency Bill, 2007; (m) The East African Kiswahili Commission Bill, 2007; and (n) The East African Health Research Commission Bill, FURTHER NOTED that the EAC Council of Ministers will: (a) (b) (c) prepare a Bill to combat counterfeit practices in the region; prepare a Bill to regulate the elections of Members of the East African Legislative Assembly; review the Bill for the establishment of Inter-University Council of East Africa with a view to finalizing it for publication. NATIONAL CONSULTATIONS ON FAST TRACKING THE PROCESS TOWARDS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A POLITICAL FEDERATION NOTED that a Mid Term Evaluation to review progress in the implementation of the National Consultative Process on Fast Tracking the EAC Political Federation was undertaken in Arusha on April 2 nd 2007; NOTED FURTHER that, at the 14 th Extraordinary Meeting held on 4 th May 2007, the Council of Ministers considered the Mid Term Evaluation Report and took note of the progress made while at the same time acknowledging the challenges facing the National Consultative Committees; ENDORSED the recommendation by the Council of Ministers to extend the deadline given to the National Consultative Committees by a further period of one month up to 30th June 2007 during which the respective National Committees would complete and submit their final reports to the EAC Secretariat; 6

8 DIRECTED that an Extraordinary Summit Meeting be convened in August 2007 to receive the Reports on the National Consultations on Fast Tracking the process towards the East African Political Federation. THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY CUSTOMS UNION RECALLING the directive by the Summit at its meeting in April 2002, that in matters pertaining to participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) - European Community (EC) arrangements, EAC should negotiate as a bloc; NOTING that Article 37(2) of the Protocol on the Establishment of EAC Customs Union provides that the Community shall coordinate its trade relations with foreign countries so as to facilitate the implementation of common policy in the field of external trade; NOTING that in spite of the Summit directive, the EAC Partner States had configured themselves for purposes of EPA negotiations under two different configurations, namely Eastern and Southern African (ESA EPA) by Kenya and Uganda in March 2003 and the Southern African Development Community (SADC-EPA) by Tanzania in August 2003; RECALLING that upon review of the current status by the Sectoral Council on Trade, Finance and Investment at its meeting on 18 th April 2007, it had been decided that there was merit in an EAC-EPA configuration in light of Article 37 of the Protocol on the establishment of the EAC Customs Union and of the Summit directive of 2002; NOTING that upon consultations by the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers with the EAC Heads of State as well as the Heads of State of Burundi and Rwanda, there was agreement in principle on the benefits of EAC as a bloc negotiating an EPA in the interest of consolidating the EAC Customs Union; 7

9 NOTING that that EAC configuration for EPA negotiations with the European Union (EU) would not imply that the Partner States cease their membership to the other regional economic communities (RECs), namely COMESA and SADC, given that the main focus under EPA was fostering trade and development arrangements with EU; FURTHER NOTING that the EAC- EPA negotiations would take into account and build on the milestones already achieved under ESA-EPA and SADC-EPA to advance EAC interests; DIRECTED the Ministers responsible for Trade and the Ministers responsible for East African Community Affairs to urgently meet and prepare a position paper for consideration at the next Extraordinary Summit Meeting in August TRIPARTITE MEETING OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF COMESA, SADC AND EAC NOTED WITH APPRECIATION and FURTHER ENCOURAGED the initiative of the Tripartite Co-operation Framework between SADC, COMESA and EAC as an important forum for the promotion of co-ordination and co-operation among the three Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as well as a major milestone towards the eventual unification of Africa. REVIEW OF THE EAC COMMON EXTERNAL TARIFF 2007 VERSION (ANNEX 1 TO THE PROTOCOL ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EAC CUSTOMS UNION) NOTING the recommendation by Council of Ministers regarding the implementation of the EAC Customs Union and, in particular, the adoption of the EAC Common External Tariff (CET) 2007 Version; 8

10 NOTING that the EAC Common External Tariff is aligned to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System 2007 version of the World Customs Organization of which all the EAC Partner States are members; and APPROVED, in accordance with Article 42 of the Protocol on the Establishment of the EAC Customs Union, the adoption of the EAC CET 2007 Version. PROGRESS REPORT ON THE STUDY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOCOL FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMON MARKET RECALLING the directive by the Summit at its Meeting held on 5 th April 2006 that the negotiations on the EAC Common Market Protocol should commence with effect from 1 st July 2006 with timeframes of December 2008 as the target date for concluding and signing the Common Market Protocol: June 2009 as the target date for ratification of the Protocol; and January 2010 as the target date for commencement of the Common Market; NOTING that the terms of reference for the study on the East African Common Market Protocol had subsequently been amended to include the accession States of Burundi and Rwanda which necessitated a review in the timelines for the conclusion of the study; FURTHER NOTING that the negotiations among the Partner States on the EAC Common Market Protocol were now scheduled to commence in September 2007; and REAFFIRMED the Summit decision of 5 th April 2006 setting the end of December 2008 as the target date for concluding and signing of the Protocol on the EAC Common Market Protocol. 9

11 REVISED TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE FOR MEMBERS OF THE EAST AFRICAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY AND JUDGES OF THE EAST AFRICAN COURT OF JUSTICE APPROVED the revised terms and conditions of service for Members of the East African Legislative Assembly and for the Judges of the East African Court of Justice respectively as recommended by the Council of Ministers. EX-GRATIA PAYMENTS TO HON. MR. JUSTICE JOSEPH S. WARIOBA AND HON. LADY JUSTICE SOLOMY BOSSA NOTED with satisfaction the contribution to the Community by Hon. Mr. Justice Joseph S. Warioba and Hon. Lady Justice Solomy Bossa while serving as Judges of the East African Court of Justice; APPROVED ex gratia payments of US $ 60,000 each to Hon. Mr. Justice Joseph S. Warioba and Hon. Lady Justice Solomy Bossa for services rendered to the East African Community. APPOINTMENT OF NEW DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL NOTED a recommendation by the Council of Ministers that Dr Julius Tangus Rotich, nominated by the Republic of Kenya, be appointed Deputy Secretary General to replace Dr. Kipyego Cheluget whose term of office ended on 24 th April 2007; COMMENDED Dr. Kipyego Cheluget for his dedicated service to the East African Community and wished him success and happiness in his future endeavours; APPOINTED Dr Julius Tangus Rotich as Deputy Secretary General of the East African Community with effect from 18 th June,

12 EAC PARTNERSHIP FUND NOTING that, pursuant to Article 14 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, the Council of Ministers had established an EAC Partnership Fund to, among other things, rationalize the use of and improve the coordination and accounting for the funds availed to EAC by Development Partners for the implementation of EAC projects and programmes; NOTING that EAC Partnership fund commenced operations in July 2007; FURTHER NOTING the commitment of the various development partners to continue supporting the operations of the Partnership Fund; AGREED that both the EAC and the Development Partners should continue to persuade other donor countries and organization on the advantages of implementing a coordinated funding mechanism, and therefore to consider channeling support for the implementation of EAC projects and programmes through the EAC Partnership Fund. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN EAC DEVELOPMENT FUND NOTING that the Council of Ministers at its Meetings held in November 2003, August 2005 and March 2006, had deliberated on the need to establish an EAC Development Fund as a financing vehicle to facilitate the pooling of resources from within the Community, including contribution from Partner States, as well as co-operating Partners and International Financing Institutions. NOTING that the justification for setting up the Development Fund is to address, among others, infrastructural development issues, development imbalances, investment promotion and other development issues in the Partner States for the advancement, deepening and acceleration of integration benefits; 11

13 FURTHER NOTING that the Fund will comprise two windows comprising an adjustment facility aimed at supporting the economic integration effort and an infrastructure facility to enable Partner States leverage funds from donors and international financing institutions to facilitate development of projects with a regional dimension; DIRECTED that the EAC Development Fund be established through a Protocol to be concluded by the Council of Ministers by December ARUSHA-NAMANGA- ATHI RIVER ROAD PROJECT NOTING the steady progress that has been made on the multi-national project for the construction of the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River Road; DIRECTED that works on the construction of the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River Road Project should commence simultaneously in both Kenya and Tanzania during the 4 th Quarter of PROGRESS REPORT ON THE EAC HEADQUARTERS BUILDING PROJECT NOTING that M/s BGS Ingenieure of Germany in collaboration with Archis of Germany and Runji and Partners of Kenya had been selected as the General Building Consultants for the EAC Headquarters project; NOTING that a series of activities have been undertaken to kick-start the project; FURTHER NOTING that the consultants have been requested to resubmit their preliminary report on design, space and cost estimates taking into account the need to accommodate the Republic of Burundi and the Republic of Rwanda in the expanded EAC; 12

14 DIRECTED that all outstanding work be finalized with a view to commencing actual construction of the building in March ANTHEM PROPOSALS AND ADOPTION OF AN EAC ANTHEM RECALLING the decision of the Heads of State at their 7th Summit Meeting held on 5th April 2006 regarding the development of an EAC anthem with a motivational message and tune in consonance with the Partner States enthusiasm for enhanced integration; FURTHER RECALLING that the directive that a reasonable range of songs be availed to the Council and the Summit from which to choose a suitable Anthem; NOTING that an elaborate process had been undertaken towards implementing the above Summit decisions; NOTING that the Council of Ministers had recommended three EAC Anthem proposals for consideration by the Summit; DEFERRED the adoption of the EAC Anthem proposals to the next Summit Meeting to allow Rwanda and Burundi to make an input in the process.. DONE AT KAMPALA, THIS 18 TH DAY OF JUNE H.E. YOWERI K. MUSEVENI PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA H.E. JAKAYA MRISHO KIKWETE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA H.E. MWAI KIBAKI PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA 13