This archive report was first published on 11 January 2020.
On January 14, 2020, Burundi will host a five-day consultation meeting for the drafting of the East African Community Political Confederation Constitution, as per a statement from the EAC Secretariat.
According to the statement, stakeholders are expected to arrive on January 13 for a preparatory meeting, where at least two government officials from each EAC member state will attend.
As part of the East African Community's integration process, the EAC Council of Ministers approved the formation of a committee of experts to draft the constitution in September 2018.
Heads of state at the 19th summit in 2017 directed the ministers to begin the process of putting into law what could lead the EAC towards a political federation, the last pillar of integration.
Uganda's Minister for EAC, Julius Maganda, said, “If we have a political confederation, it will allow for a harmonised system that will guide us in how to cede power in a regulated way until we can open up to the federation.”
Mr. Maganda explained that the two representatives from each state form a 12-member committee of experts who will carry out research, consultation, and draft the East African Community constitution by 2021, with Uganda's Benjamin Odoki as the chair.
By 2023, the confederation model will be implemented, which will then deliver the political federation. The Council of Ministers preferred to start with a confederation to give appropriate time for the partner states to harmonise systems.
