The East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) is expected to debate on two key bills pertinent to the Monetary Union Protocol.
The two bills; EAC Monetary Institute Bill, 2017 and the EAC Statistics Bureau Bill, 2017, will be tabled at the EALA sitting currently being hosted in Dodoma, Tanzania.
The Sitting which is the fourth meeting of the first Session of the fourth Assembly takes place from today (April 9th 2018) and runs through to 28th of April 2018.
The Assembly is to be presided over by Speaker, Rt Hon Ngoga K. Martin.
According to a statement from EALA secretariat, the Assembly shall also deliberate on a number of key issues over the three-week period. Bills and resolutions are expected to be brought before Plenary. A number of Committee undertakings are also expected – particularly on scrutiny of Bills in preparation for the forthcoming public hearings.
The two key bills set to be tabled at the EALA meeting were both introduced by the Chair of the Council of Ministers, Rt Hon Dr Ali Kirunda Kivenjija at the 2nd Meeting of the 1st Session held in Kampala, Uganda, in January 2018 and sailed through the First Reading.
“The object of the EAC Monetary Institute Bill, 2017, is to provide for the establishment of the East African Monetary Institute as an institution of the Community responsible for preparatory work for the EAC Monetary Union. In accordance with Article 23 of the Protocol on the EAC Monetary Union, the Bill is expected to provide for the functions, governance and funding for the Institute as well as other related matters.” the statement reads in part.
Closely related to the EAMI Bill is the EAC Statistics Bureau Bill, 2017, which also seeks to establish the Statistics Bureau as an Institution of the Community under Article 9 of the Treaty and Article 21 of the Protocol on Establishment of the EAC Monetary Union. The Bill provides for the functions, powers, governance and its funding with a view to establishing an institution responsible for statistics in a bid to support the East African Monetary Union.
The Council of Ministers for EAC is thus expected to meet with the Committees to thrash out key matters on both Bills. The EALA Committee on Communications, Trade and Investment shall at a later date engage with stakeholders on the EAC Statistics Bureau Bill, 2017 while the EAC Monetary Institute Bill, 2017 will be handled by the General Purpose Committee.
