By Charles Kazooba
An ordinary Tanzanian citizen is
challenging the East African Community Summit decisions among which a directive
to the bloc’s Secretary General that a model structure for political federation
should be proposed.
The East African Court of Justice
First Instance Division in its first session on April 18 heard that Timothy Alvin
Kahoho was challenging a number of directives by the 13th Ordinary Summit of
Heads of State held in Burundi in November 2011, which included a proposal for
an action plan on a draft model of the structure of the East African Political
Federation.
The other
directives being challenged are; conclusion of the protocol on immunities and
privileges for the East African Community Organs and Institutions; producing a
roadmap for establishment and strengthening of institutions identified by a
team of experts as critical for the functioning of the Customs Union, Common
Market and Monetary Union and formulation of an action plan for the purpose of
operationalizing the other recommendations in a report of a team of experts.
Kahoho
submitted that the 13th Summit was wrong to mandate the Secretariat
to carry out the duties as per the above directives contravening Article 11(5)
of the Treaty for Establishment of the East African Community.
The
Article provides that “Subject to this Treaty, the Summit
may delegate the exercise of any of its functions, subject to any conditions
which it may think fit to impose to a member of the Summit, to the Council or
to the Secretary General.
But Kahoho
contended that the process of political federation had not been initiated by
the Summit and that the process should ensure that the East African citizens
are involved and not to be left to the EAC Organs alone to determine their
destiny.
The
Applicant also said that the action by the Summit of directing the Secretariat
on issues related to immunities and privileges was wrong as it does not fall
under areas of cooperation where a protocol can be established but falls under
Article 73 which is out of areas for cooperation as provided in the Treaty for
the establishment of the EAC.
He therefore sought for orders to restrain the East
African Community Secretariat from carrying out activities geared towards the
realization of the East African Political Federation. That the directives of
the 13th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State held in Burundi in November 2011,
for being an infringement of Article 11 (5) and 73 of the EAC Treaty and he
asked the Court to find the Summit contravened the Treaty.
Dr.
Anthony Kafumbe representing the Secretary General of the EAC submitted that,
the process of Political Federation was started by the Council. He argued that
the team of experts report was at the instance of the Council and not the
Secretariat.
He added that when the Summit initiates the process, it can’t do
anything else, but delegate to the Council and the Secretariat to follow up the
process and report back.
Dr.
Kafumbe argued that there was no contravention of the Treaty and that the
contention of excluding the Council of Ministers in the Political Federation
process is not true and the process is ongoing.
He also told Court that the
draft protocol on immunities and privileges concerns the conditions of EAC
Staff which addresses the inconsistencies in the Partner States EAC
headquarters agreements.
He therefore asked the Court to dismiss the case.
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