Over 100 officials from local government structures across the East African Community are in Kigali for a meeting due to start on Wednesday, October 6, with Covid-19 recovery top on the agenda.  

Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente is expected to officially open the four-day gathering to be held under the theme "Leveraging the role of local and county governments to fast-track achievements of the EAC Integration Agenda.”

Speaking to The New Times, Prosper Mulindwa, and Director General for Local Government Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ministry of Local Government, said that, as part of the agenda, participants will discuss strategies related to Covid-19 recovery as a driver for the bloc’s trade and regional development.

Other items on the agenda, he said, include domestication of the Sustainable Development Goals in East Africa, the impact of the decentralisation and devolution system in East Africa as well as strengthening engagement with the East African Community. 

The officials will also elect a new chairperson of the East Africa Local Government Forum (EALGF), an agency that brings together ministers of local government, local government associations, and organizations with an interest in local government across the East African region.