EALA MPs tour partner states

Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) are visiting partner states to check their commitment in implementing the East African Community (EAC) Treaty.EALA is the legislative arm of the five-nation EAC partner states.In Rwanda, a team of four legislators led by Peter M Mathuki visited various public institutions where they received information on the measures taken to ensure and promote good governance.“According to our findings which are based on the indicators and what we have learnt from the institutions visited, Rwanda is doing well. And from this visit, we have a lot to advice other member countries, especially regarding what Rwanda has done in terms of governance and rule of law,” said Mathuki.He made the remarks shortly after visiting Rwanda Governance Board (RGB). RGB is a government institution charged with promoting good governance and decentralization through monitoring governance in public and private institutions.During the visit, the team shared information with RGB officials basically on the measures put in place to ensure that the institution achieves its mission.Among others, the delegation wanted to know the measures in place to fight corruption. RGB CEO, Prof. Anastase Shyaka told the delegation that in addition to the judiciary, the Office of the Ombudsman has played a crucial role in fighting corruption, especially among public servants. Annually, public servants are meant to declare their wealth to the Ombudsman, and this enables the office to question those who accumulate wealth suspected to be through wrong means. Shyaka said the initiative is paying off in preventing or fighting corrupt officers.The delegation that will today visit parliament, has so far visited the Supreme Court, the Gender Ministry, National Women Council as well as Gender Monitoring Office, among others. Mathuki said that the tour will form a basis for the assembly in encouraging other members to learn from one another what will be identified as best governance practices.