Burundi EALA MPs plan to meet various groups of Burundians

“Burundi EALA MPs during the conference”

The Group of Burundi East African Legislative Assembly MPs, has held this 31 October a press conference to inform Burundians about activities conducted by this EAC institution in plenary sessions that took place in Tanzania in August and October 2016 in Arusha and Zanzibar respectively.”As the process of Burundi integration in EAC focuses on people, we have come to meet the target groups that we did not meet in previous meetings,” said Emérence Bucumi, the chairperson of the group of Burundi EALA MPs.

For Bucumi, target groups include representatives of locally elected officials, the media, the two chambers of parliament, the Universities in the country, governors of the northern provinces not visited thus far and some ministries to discuss some law proposals recently introduced in the EAC parliament.”Private bills introduced in the EALA include that concerning the advantages the leaders of the EAC organs at the end of their term, that on prohibition of female genital mutilation and the private bill on the fight against human trafficking,” she mentions.Bucumi said the practice of female genital mutilation is observed in some EAC member statessuch as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. “We want to prevent this before it happens in Burundi.

Thanks to the free movement of people as provided for in the EAC treaty, if we do not take serious measures to fight this dangerous practice, Burundi girls and women risk suffering it, “she insists.Bucumi Emérence has also said two new EALA members namely Oda Gasinzigwa from Rwanda and Jean Marie Muhirwa from Burundi were sworn in on 20 October 2016. The latterreplaced Hafsa Mossi, the former chairperson of Burundi EALA MPs group murdered on 13 July 2016 in the north of the Burundian capital Bujumbura