DRC to be part of EAC by October 2022- Minister Kadaga.

While addressing the media in Kampala on the admission of DRC into the East African Community, the First Deputy Prime Minister also Minister for East African Community Affairs Rt Hon. Alitwala Rebecca Kadaga revealed that by October 2022, delegates from DR Congo will start attending official meetings, ministerial meetings and also the summits of the East African region.

According to Kadaga, who moved the motion to accelerate the admission of DRC into the East African Community, though the process was affected by the covid19 pandemic, a lot of work has been going on including the verification mission team that went in Kinshasa in 2021 to meet organs of government that included police and courts of law and also the adaptation of the report by the council of Ministers.

‘’We are delighted that almost 100million people are added to the East African Community and it has now expanded from the Indian ocean to the Atlantic ocean’’ Kadaga added.

The President of Kenya also the chair of the summit of Heads of State HE. Uhuru Kenyatta and  DRC President HE. Felix Tshisekedi are expected to sign a treaty of accession by April 14th that will see the DRC undertaking to accede to the protocols of the treaty and other Memorandum of Understanding made by the EAC.

The Democratic Republic of Congo will have six months after the treaty signing to complete the internal processes including going to their parliament to domesticate the treaty and also to set timelines by which they will get integrated into the community.

Timelines that the DRC will submit indicate that of joining the community, customs union plus the common market and they will have to specify whether to join in full or in phases. After that process, the instruments will be handed to the community and the Secretary General will be required to forward them to the African Union and the United Nations to indicate that a new member is part of the EAC.

The treaty of accession of the DRC into the EAC is determined to strengthen the economic, social, cultural, political, technological and other ties for the accelerated, balanced and sustainable development of the United Republic of Tanzania, and the Republics of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and that of South Sudan through the establishment of an East African Customs Union and a Common Market.

The community development strategy that now involves 7 member states has amongst the Agriculture and rural development policy that will enlighten the East African industrial development strategy plus the joint export and investment promotion strategy, the Education strategy, Gender and Social development strategy, Health systems policy and research, Immigration, Infrastructure and also the private sector development strategy.