Dr Richard Sezibera, Rwanda’s Health minister is the new East African Community’s secretary general. He is replacing Tanzania’s Juma Mwapachu.
Dr Sezibera, 46, took oath of office in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday at a ceremony witnessed by Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki and his counterparts from Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi.
Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame who had earlier put up a spirited campaign for his country’s candidature was represented by his country’s Prime Minister Bernard Makuza
The election of Dr Sezibera, a surgeon, who also served as Mr Kagame’s special envoy to the Great Lakes Region, concludes months of debate over the appointment of the region’s top civil servant that had pitted Kenya against Rwanda.
It therefore means Dr Sezibera will resign as minister next week when Mr Mwapachu’s term ends officially.
His appointment comes only a day after the Business Daily reported a behind-the-scenes deal that saw Kenya withdraw her claim to the position in favour of Rwanda.
“The EAC jobs are always distributed equitably among member states and I am sure partners that fail to get the Secretary General’s position will still serve in other areas”, Kenya’s EAC minister Hellen Sambili said a few weeks ago after the council of ministers failed to agree on Mr Mwapachu’s replacement
On Tuesday, Kenyan Judge Isaac Lenaola was appointed the new head of the East African Court of Justice while Dr Enos Bukuku of Tanzania was appointed deputy secretary general.
Under the EAC treaty, the secretary general has a fixed five-year term and the position is rotates among members.
Mr Mwapachu’s retirement means Tanzania now joins Uganda as member states which have fully served their full terms.
Rwanda had, maintained that the one year period that Kenya’s head of Public Service Francis Muthaura served between 1999 and 2000 should count as a full term.
It was, however, not clear whether Kenya accepted this argument which would effectively mean her candidate can only get the bloc’s top job after 10 years after Burundi.
The EAC treaty also entitles partner states not represented by the Secretary General to have a deputy secretary general each, heading a department at the Secretariat.
The appointment and swearing in of Dr Sezibera means Mr Alloys Mutabingwa, the 45 year old commercial lawyer and head of planning and infrastructure department, who has represented Rwanda as the deputy secretary general since 2009, has lost his position.
Kenya will continue to be represented by Dr Julius Rotich, the 57 year-old accountant and former managing director of National Cereals and Produce Board, as deputy secretary general.
Dr Rotich has been heading the finance and administration docket since he was appointed in June 2007.
Only woman
Uganda has Ms Beatrice Kiraso, 47, as the only woman secretary general. She heads the political affairs department Burundi’s Jean Claude Nsengiyumva, 37, heads productive and social sectors.
Dr Sezibera has the immediate task of overseeing the implementation of common market protocol whose timeframe goes until 2015.
He will also oversee the ongoing negotiations for the monetary union protocol and ultimately prepare ground for the political federation.
Burundi’s president Pierre Nkurunziza who is the current chairman of the summit, said economic challenges facing the region have come from the recent extended drought that hit most parts of the region, as well as from rising fuel prices.
“The growing incidents of piracy in the western rim of the Indian Ocean have also negatively impacted our region and it is important to collectively reflect on these issues,” said Mr Nkururunziza.
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