{Rwandan president Paul Kagame has asked leaders in East Africa to dedicate more time to fast-track the implementation of key Northern Corridor projects that are behind schedule.}
He made the remarks on Thursday during the Summit of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects in Kigali, Rwanda.
Uganda is lagging behind Kenya on the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway. A row of procurement of the firm to construct the railway has delayed the beginning of the construction which is supposed to connect Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda.
“Some of the slow progress that we have witnessed has come as a result, may be sometimes people not finding sufficient time to meet and discuss and agree on how to implement some of the decisions that have been made,” Kagame said.
As a result, key project resolutions and implementations have been repetitive, while others have been piling up and causing a backlog, according to Kagame.
“We agreed that the people concerned should meet more regularly. It would be helpful if ministers met 12 times a year to get rid of this backlog and therefore help the urgency of implementation,” he said.
The summit was also attended by President Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, who unanimously pledged to foresee the fast implementation of key projects that benefit member states.
The most pressing projects include the Standard Gauge Railway linking the three countries, ICT infrastructure, oil refinery, power generation, airspace management, single customs territory and security cooperation, among others.
During the closed session, the heads of state said there is steady progress in construction works of the Mombasa-Nairobi railway section which has reached 60 percent completion. They also said they have secured a funding agreement with EXIM Bank of China for completion of that section.
“The heads of state directed the ministers to finalise preparation of bankable project proposals for the remaining sections on the Eastern, Western and Southern routes and Mirama-Kigali section,” a statement from the conference reads in part.
They also agreed that integrated electricity generation and trading among partner states should commence by April next year.
On oil refinery development, the presidents noted “there is progress on incorporating the refinery holding company, through which partner states shareholding in the project will be channelled.”
They also observed challenges in transit cargo, particularly at the Mombasa Port, and directed their respective ministers of Finance and revenue heads to resolve the challenges presented by diversion of transit cargo and procure an electronic cargo tracking system to address the issue of cash deposits and overstayed cargo in Mombasa.
The summit further noted that Partner states signed an agreement on transfer of prisoners and offenders and sought to harmonise road safety strategies to reduce accidents.
Ethiopia – which is an observer state during the summit –announced it was joining the Northern Corridor as a partner state.
The initiative comprises Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan while Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo have been attending as observers.
South Sudan president Salva Kiir did not attend the summit but was represented by his adviser on economic affairs Aggrey Tisa Sabuni.
The heads of state summit is held every two months. The next summit will be held in Kampala but the date is not yet known.
SOURCE:DAILY MONITOR:[Kagame calls for quick progress on EAC projects->http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Kagame-calls-quick-progress-EAC-projects/-/688334/2992928/-/qu043/-/index.html]
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