Presidents agree to speed up EA political union

Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda signed an agreement Wednesday to speed up the East African political federation, complete key infrastructure projects and rope in Burundi and South Sudan into the new multilateral partnership. 

Ministers of the EAC member countries will meet in Kampala next month and agree on a road map and prepare a draft on the federal constitution by October 15.

“The heads of state welcomed the participation of the Republic of South Sudan and Burundi in the Summit,’’ read a communiqué. 

It was issued after a closed-door session by Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi and President Salva Kiir of South Sudan were represented in the meeting by their ministers for foreign affairs and works and transport, respectively. 

After launching a new berth at Mombasa port, the three presidents said construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi segment of the new standard-gauge railway will start by November and the entire project, to Kampala and Kigali, will be completed by March 2018. 

READ: Mombasa port raises status with new berth

Member states were given until October 15 to confirm whether they intend to participate in the proposed joint financing of an oil refinery in Uganda.

The presidents also directed ministers to report back on progress of the Eldoret–Kampala oil pipeline project and the feasibility study for its extension to Kigali during the third infrastructure summit in October in Kigali, Rwanda.

The meeting followed the June first infrastructure summit in Entebbe attended by Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda where the three countries agreed to co-fund joint infrastructure projects and reduce the cost of doing business in the region. 

Tanzania, which inexplicably did not participate in the session, and Burundi, which are members of the East African Community, were not invited to the Entebbe Summit, which was presented as a trilateral initiative. 

Significantly, however, Burundi’s participation in Thursday's summit – albeit through a ministerial delegation – suggests Bujumbura’s willingness to join the new regional infrastructure initiative.