The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organization of six (6) Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The Treaty establishing the East African Community was signed on 30th November 1999 and entered into force on 7th July 2000 by the Partner States of The Republic of Uganda, The Republic of Kenya; and the United Republic of Tanzania. The Republic of Burundi and the Republic of Rwanda acceded to the Treaty on 18th June 2007 and became full members on 1st July 2007 while the Republic of South Sudan joined on 16th April 2016 and became a full member on the 5th September 2016 thus expanding the number of the Community Partner States to six.
The East African Legislative Assembly (Assembly) is an organ of the East African Community; established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. Under the Treaty, the Assembly has a Membership comprising nine members elected by each Partner State. Currently, the Assembly has 54 elected Members; and 8 ex-officio Members totaling a Membership of 62. The Assembly has a cardinal function in the furtherance of Community objectives which encompasses the legislative, representative, and oversight mandate.
Currently, the Assembly has established the following committees, the Commission; the Accounts Committee; the Committee on Legal, Rules, and Privileges; the Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources; the Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution; the Committee on Communication, Trade and Investment and the Committee on General Purpose. These Committees are charged with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty and the EAC Development Strategy in the special areas of cooperation that fall under their respective ambit. It is through these Committees that the bulk of the Assembly’s work is executed.
Resources
Makame, A. (2012) ‘The East African integration: Achievement and challenges. GREAT Insights 1(6), available at https://bit.ly/3xnw9sq
East Africa Community website available at https://www.eac.int/
East African Court of Justice website available at https://www.eacj.org/
East African Legislative Assembly website available at https://www.eala.org/