Business Daily writer wins award on EA bloc reporting

A writer with the Business Daily, George Omondi, was named overall best reporter of East African integration issues for the second consecutive year at the fifth Media Summit held in Kigali.

The EAC Secretary -General’s Award 2012 was delivered by Rwandan Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi and the bloc’s secretary-general Richard Sezibera at a gala held in Kigali Serena Hotel last Thursday.

The competition, now in its second year, attracted journalists from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.

Mr Omondi also won an award in the Political Federation Reporting category, while NTV’s Abby Agina won the broadcasting reporting category award at the event organised by EAC and the East African Business Council.

Popular participation

Dorothy Nakaweesi, of Uganda’s Daily Monitor, clinched the EABC Chairman’s Award for the best entry in the Business and Financial Reporting category, while The Citizen’s Zephania Ubwani (Tanzania) took the Health Reporting category.

Other winners were African Laughter’s Robert Koigi (Agriculture and Food Security Reporting), Rwanda Today’s writer Charles Kwizera (Higher Education), and Wanjohi Kabukuru of the African Business (The Green Award).

Mr Habumuremyi said the awards would encourage more journalists to develop interest in regional integration, ultimately stimulating popular participation.

“The media should open up a candid and powerful conversation and frank exchange of views and opinions on how best we can all rise to the challenge of promoting a more robust citizen participation in the EAC integration”, he said

The awards were jointly organised by the EAC Secretariat and EABC.

They were sponsored by Trade Mark East Africa, Inter University Council for East Africa, BRALIRWA, Nakumatt, EcoBank, Serena Hotel, and Association of Freight Forwarders (ADR).

Journalists and media practitioners called for full exchange of information, by inter-state organs, that drive regional integration.