Three leaders in deal to quicken EA federation

Three heads of state Yoweri Museveni of Uganda (3rd from left), Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya (2nd from right) and  Paul Kagame of Rwanda  (3rd from right) at the recent event they held in Kenya. The leaders signed off on ambitious plans to fast-track the East African political federation

PHOTO | FILE 

By Daniel K. Kalinaki and Mathias Ringa The Citizen Correspondents  (email the author)

Posted  Friday, August 30  2013 at  11:20

In Summary

The communiqué was issued after a closed-door session involving President Uhuru Kenyatta, President Yoweri Museveni and President Paul Kagame 

Nairobi. The Presidents of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda yesterday signed ambitious plans to fast-track the East African political federation, complete key infrastructure projects and bring Burundi and South Sudan into the new multi-lateral partnership within the community.

Ministers will meet in Kampala next month and agree on a roadmap by September 15 as well prepare a zero draft on the federal constitution by October 15, the presidents said in a joint communiqué signed yesterday.

“The talks were held in a friendly and warm brotherly atmosphere,” the communiqué issued after the meeting in Mombasa noted. “The Heads of State and Government welcomed the participation of the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Burundi in the Summit.”

The communiqué was issued after a closed-door session involving President Uhuru Kenyatta, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda. President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi and President Salva Kiir of South Sudan were represented in the meeting by their ministers for foreign affairs and works and transport, respectively.

Only hours after jointly launching a new berth at Mombasa Port, the three presidents said construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi segment of the new standard-gauge railway will start by November and the entire project, to Kampala and Kigali, will be completed by March 2018.

Partner states were also given until October 15 to confirm whether they intend to participate in the proposed joint financing of an oil refinery in Uganda. The presidents also directed their responsible ministers to report back on progress of the Eldoret – Kampala oil pipeline project and the feasibility study for its extension to Kigali during the third infrastructure summit in October in Kigali, Rwanda.

The meeting followed the first infrastructure summit in June in Entebbe attended by Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda where the three countries agreed to co-fund joint infrastructure projects and reduce the cost of doing business in the region.

Tanzania and Burundi, which are members of the East African Community, were not invited to the Entebbe Summit, which was presented as a trilateral initiative. Significantly, however, Burundi’s participation in yesterday’s summit – albeit through a ministerial delegation – suggests Bujumbura’s willingness to join the new regional infrastructure initiative.

source: The citizen