At the just ended 5th meeting of the 4th session in Arusha, Tanzania, the Assembly has granted leave to six Members to introduce Private Members’ Bills. A total of 7 such Bills are expected to be introduced in the House in the coming sittings for debate and if passed, shall be duly submitted by the Speaker of the Assembly to the Heads of State for assent into Community Laws.
Hon. Dr Odette Nyiramilimo is expected to introduce a Private Member’s Bill entitled “The East African Community Conflict Bill 2011” which aims at checking conflicts through establishment of a conflict management commission at the EAC.
Hon Dr. James Ndahiro has also been granted leave by the House to introduce two Private Members Bills. The first Bill entitled: “The East African Sectional Ownership Bill, 2011 takes cognisance of the advantages of owning property in a condominium arrangement (an individually owned unit such as an apartment or town house, in a building or land that is owned in common by the owners of the units) noting that it amongst other things, safeguards on the limited space. It bears in mind the fact that such ownership has taken centre stage in modern day era hence the need to have the developments regulated in the region.
In December 2011, a resolution moved by Hon. Frederic Ngenzebuhoro urging the Partner States to quickly undertake concrete policies for adequate Housing for all EAC citizens was adopted by the House. It among other things encouraged Partner States to prioritise the issue of adequate housing while achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and called upon EALA and the National Assemblies to ensure that all citizens enjoy adequate housing without discrimination for any reason..
In the second Bill, the Hon.Dr. Ndahiro is set to introduce another titled “The East African Electronic Transactions Bill, 2011”. If passed and assented to as an Act of the Community, the region shall have a law regulating electronic transactions. The Bill recognises that substantial transactions in trade take place within our region, and if not well regulated, such transactions may cause negative consequences to the EAC economies and individual transactions. At the same time, the economic downturn in 2009 has also attributed to among others, the improperly regulated information industry, a tide the envisaged law will check.
On his part, Hon Frederic Ngenzebuhoro is scheduled to table a Bill that seeks to harmonise modalities of electing Members to the East African Legislative Assembly. The Bill titled: The East African Legislative Assembly Members Elections Bill 2011” would assist in streamlining the elections procedures to the regional August House in all Partner States bearing in mind Article 50 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC, which provides for the qualifications and manner of elections for Members to the regional assembly. In the past, the procedure and manner of elections for Members of EALA have been challenged in the Courts of law in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
The Assembly has also granted leave to Hon. Dan Wandera Ogalo to introduce a fresh Bill on Elections. The move to grant Hon Ogalo leave to table the “Elections Bill 2011” took place after the motion moved by the initiator and seconded by Hon. Gervais Akhaabi, was approved. Just last week, the Elections Bill 2008 tabled (then) by Hon. Ogalo was withdrawn from the House on a after it failed to get through the second reading. In the original Bill, the mover had sought to make provision to ensure the full comprehensive and effective management of Presidential and National Assembly elections. The Bill advocated for the establishment of an East African Electoral Commission that would manage free, fair and credible elections and processes incidental to the conduct of elections in the EAC region.
As the EAC region continues in its quest to conserve the environment through use of biodegradable materials, a new Bill entitled: “The East African Community Polythene Bags Control Bill, 2011” is set to be introduced in the Assembly. The mover, Hon Patricia Hajabakiga, wants polythene bags to be replaced by environment friendly biodegradable packaging materials such as cloth bags, paper bags, baskets which are found in a number of countries including Israel, Bangladesh, Botswana and Rwanda. The mover of the Bill is of the view that under Article 112 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, Partner States agreed to co-operate in the management of the environment and particularly in Article 112(2) (a, c, h...) where the Partner States undertook to encourage the manufacture and use of bio-degradable packaging materials. The use of polythene bag according to the motion is a menace to the environment and the habitat.
Finally, “The East African Parliamentary Institute Bill 2011” shall also be introduced following a successful motion moved by Hon. Dora Byamukama. The Institute which is at its inception stages and is spearheaded by EALA hopes to address capacity building needs for parliamentary staff and other stakeholders in the region as well as in developing approaches to parliamentary practices and procedures.
Article 59 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community empowers any Member of the Assembly to propose any motion or to introduce any Bill in the Assembly. The same article is translated in the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly and in particular Rules 26 and 64. Once ready, the progress of the Bills are carried out in the same way as that followed in respect of a Community Bill.
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For more Information, contact: Bobi Odiko, Senior Public Relations Officer; East African Legislative Assembly; Tel: +255-27-2508240 Cell: +255 787 870945, +254-733-718036; Email: bodiko@eachq.org Web: https://www.eala.org Arusha, Tanzania
