EALA to put Ministers, Secretariat to task on House recommendations

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on Wednesday, June 8, resolved to introduce a mechanism through which the Assembly regularly tasks the Council of Ministers and the bloc’s Secretariat to report back on implementation of MPs recommendations. MPs want to make it a rule such that whenever a parliament committee conducts oversight activity on any issue or project of the EAC and files recommendations, the Council of Ministers – the central decision-making and governing organ of the bloc – must provide feedback in a designated period of time. Speaker Martin Ngoga said: “I am directing the Clerk to find time during this plenary for the Committee (on Legal Rules and Privileges) to propose an ammendment to the Rules where, in a certain period that we shall consider, the Council of Ministers should come and explain the status of implementation of the recommendations we make.” Ngoga said the Committee would only need about an hour for this task. They need that rule immediately, he noted. “We want to create a situation whereby making recommendations on the floor does not become just a formalistic exercise, such that when recommendations are done, action is taken. What we are looking at is; how can we create that system of accountability?” If this succeeds, it will go a long way in enabling the regional integration agenda. The idea came up as MPs wrapped up debate on a report by the standing Committee on Communication, Trade and Investment on an on-spot assessment of the status of implementation of the EAC One Stop Border Post (OSBP) project and the Rusumo hydro electricity project. During their oversight activity in October 2021, lawmakers inspected three OSBPs – the Rusumo OSBP on the Rwanda-Tanzania border, the Kabanga/Kobero OSBP on the Burundi-Tanzania border, and the Elegu/Nimule OSBP between Uganda and South Sudan. Lawmakers also inspect the implementation of the Rusumo hydro power project shared by Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania which has delayed. They observed a myriad of challenges negatively impacting on the projects and, as usual, filed a number of specific as well as general observations and recommendations. For a long time, and on many occasions, recommendations by the House were given little or no attention by the Council of Ministers. Betty Maina, the Chairperson of Council, told the House that she took note of the recommendations and she will ensure that issues are addressed. Lawmakers insisted that a proper system of accountability is required. Disruptions in electricity supply which causes delays in border operations, lack of reliable medical services, insufficient staff accommodation facilities and lack of canteen services, all on the side of Tanzania, were among the other challenges highlighted. In August 2018, an inferno gutted the Tanzanian side of the Rusumo OSBP, leaving one person dead and six fuel tanks and a tractor destroyed. The Committee Chairperson, MP Christopher Nduwayo (Burundi), noted that when they visited the same OSBP, last October, there were still no firefighting equipment on the Tanzanian side. We never get a reply MP Rose Akol (Uganda) initially proposed that a checklist of essential facilities for all the 13 currently established OSBPs in the region be set up and the Assembly pushes for its proper implementation. “The business community is losing alot of money. There is need to standardise what we expect to see at our OSBPs. And we can create parking lots for dry cargo and wet cargo like fuel also has its own parking lot so that if there is a disaster, it should be a minimum of a few vehicles or goods along that border post being affected,” she said. “It’s five years down the road and I am yet to get a report either from the Secretariat or our Council, to this Parliament, on what, so far, they’ve done on the recommendations we keep making here. The parliament has made so many recommendations, urging Council to do so many things but we never get a reply.” At some point, Nduwayo suggested that just like there are state of the nation addresses in partner states every year, there should be a regular state of the EAC address that answers the lawmakers queries. Besides getting required feedback on their numerous recommendations, lawmakers are also hoping that the new accountability system, once instituted, will cater for the regular EAC audit queries. Lawmakers believe the House will then have a transparency matrix to help them streamline the system of governance within the EAC. As the term of the fourth EALA nears its end, in December, lawmakers continue to push for accountability. It is within the same momentum that, in February, some regional Ministers in charge of EAC Affairs pledged to work out a plan such that recommendations the regional Parliament makes are fully implemented.

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EALA to put Ministers, Secretariat to task on House recommendations