He said Tanzania’s official stand regarding the willingness of other
countries to enter bilateral or trilateral arrangements needed consensus
before their implementation. PHOTO|FILE
By The Citizen Reporter
Posted Tuesday, October 22 2013 at 00:00
Posted Tuesday, October 22 2013 at 00:00
In Summary
He said Tanzania’s official stand regarding the
willingness of other countries to enter bilateral or trilateral
arrangements needed consensus before their implementation.
Dar es Salaam. The government yesterday
officially renounced the so called ‘coalition of the willing’ between
Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, and now Burundi.
In a statement issued by the ministry of East
African Cooperation, the government also said the ongoing trilateral
talks between the countries were against the EAC protocol.
According to the government, the projects under
deliberation by the new coalition, and which have received the blessing
of Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta, Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame, should
have been endorsed first by all the EAC member countries.
The statement was issued yesterday at a media
briefing at the government Information Services Offices by the
ministry’s head of communication department, Mr Vedastina Justinian. Mr
Justinian said the communication was in response to growing concern
among the public that the activities being advanced by the three EAC
member countries would isolate Tanzania.
He said Tanzania’s official stand regarding the
willingness of other countries to enter bilateral or trilateral
arrangements needed consensus before their implementation.
“This is notwithstanding the fact that the
coalition of the three countries in exclusion of Tanzania and Burundi is
being run under their respective foreign affairs dockets and not
through the EAC secretariat,” the official said.
Mr Justinian said the Kenyan, Rwandan and Ugandan
leaders were in contravention of Article 7(1) (e) of the EAC protocol.
“Even though this Article allows member countries to enter bilateral or
trilateral agreements, it is a must that issues under consideration for
implementation under this arrangement are fully discussed and agreed
upon by all member countries,” read the statement.
Heads of State from Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda met
in Kampala in early July this year and agreed to roll-out several
cross-country infrastructure projects in a move that has elicited heated
debate on the future of regional integration.
SOURCE: THE CITIZEN
SOURCE: THE CITIZEN
