The 19th ordinary summit of the East African Community Heads of State held last week in Kampala has led to some conclusions among which the representation of the community by two deputy secretary generals instead of five.
EAC country leaders in the 19th EAC Summit
The summit decided that there shall be only be two deputy secretary generals at the EAC who shall be recruited competitively on rotational basis. The summit directed that the council of ministers the community ensure the implementation of the decision.
Gaston Sindimwo, First Deputy President who represented Burundi, said the summit took that decision decided to reduce the running costs. “Beforehand, there were five deputies to the EAC Secretary General from five member states,” he says.
In the same vein, the summit of the EAC Heads of State looked into projects to be funded in the next ten years such as the development of infrastructure and the financing of the health sector. EAC leaders have recommitted to the carrying out of over 280 ambitious projects including the construction of roads and railways intended to link the region, the improvement of specialized health care and cross border health services as well as the increase in electricity- generating capacity.
EAC needs $78 billion in the next 10 years to fund projects that will be implemented within the community member states. Leaders from the six EAC partner states said the revenue will be internally and externally raised through borrowing and Public Private Partnership (PPP). For this year, 17 projects have been approved by the summit.
On behalf of Burundi, out of five projects presented, two have attracted the attention of the summit.
Gaston Sindimwo said the construction of Uvinza-Musongati railway and extension of the Bujumbura International Airport were given a high priority.
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