ARUSHA: PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has called on East Africans to embrace their unity with pride, stating that the light of hope ahead shines brighter than ever before.
Speaking during the 24th Ordinary Summit of the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State in Arusha, President Samia highlighted the critical role of the bloc in creating economic, social and political opportunities for the people in the region.
“For the East African countries, we take pride in our community. This is because the light of hope is very bright ahead of us. With this EAC, the light of hope shines before us,” she said.
Dr Samia underlined the importance of unity in achieving collective progress and well-being for the people of the region.
She also expressed gratitude to God for the continued leadership and participation of the region’s leaders, particularly Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, whose leadership has contributed significantly to the strengthening of the EAC. “May God grant him good health, strength and excellent leadership,” she said.
President Samia praised President Museveni as a teacher, mediator and unifier within the Community. “Whenever we go astray, he brings us back to the principles of our community,” she said.
Reflecting on the 25-year journey of the EAC, President Samia acknowledged the challenges the region has faced, but also pointed out the successes, especially in the expansion of the Community from three to eight member states.
She urged the region to remain focused on finding opportunities amidst challenges, noting that the goal is for East Africa to be united with a shared destiny.
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“We have continued to focus on seeing the opportunities and the environment for any challenges that arise. Our goal is to be one people with one destiny,” she said.
Looking ahead to the next 25 years of the EAC, President Samia expressed confidence that the Community would continue to grow stronger and achieve greater integration.
She encouraged East Africans to continue working together, highlighting the power of unity.
“As we sing our East African anthem, let us continue saying, ‘Let us build and strengthen our community and take it far. Our unity is our strength and our strength will be the anchor of our community.’ We have placed these words in our anthem to ensure that we are part of the lasting legacy of our community, which will lead to the Africa we want,” President Samia said.
In addition to her remarks, President Samia congratulated the EAC on its significant milestone of 25 years of existence.
“One of the major successes of this community is the expansion of our bloc from three to eight member states. We have every reason to be proud of this achievement. However, we must ask ourselves: Are our countries benefitting sufficiently from the opportunities available within our region?” she posed, urging a deeper discussion on how to maximise the benefits for the people of East Africa.
As Kenya’s President William Ruto assumes the Chairmanship of the EAC, the Summit also decided that Somalia will serve as the Rapporteur of the EAC for the coming year.
President Ruto, speaking during the summit, reflected on the directives issued in the 23rd EAC meeting in November 2023.
He said that the Council had been tasked with expediting the amendment of Article 137 and related provisions of the EAC Treaty and establishing modalities for the use of Kiswahili and French as official languages of the Community.
He also highlighted the decision to amend Article 132.4 of the Treaty regarding the financing formula.
“The Council has proposed amendments to Article 137 and 132.4 of the Treaty as we requested. If there is no objection to the proposed amendments, I recommend that we adopt them,” President Ruto said.
On the issue of mutual recognition of academic and professional qualifications within EAC partner states, President Ruto informed the Summit that the proposed regulations, developed under Article 11 of the Protocol on the Establishment of the EAC Common Market, were cleared by relevant authorities and were presented for adoption.
