EALA MPs condemn graft in the region

East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MPs on Monday condemned corruption and worrying insecurity in the region and called upon governments to uphold good governance.

More than 10 EALA MPs, led by Speaker Daniel Kidega, said citizens of each partner country must hold their leaders accountable over corruption that has affected services in the public and private sectors.

“As an assembly, we condemn in the strongest terms possible corrupt tendencies amongst member states in the region, within the government and in the private sector,” Mr Kidega said during a press conference at Parliament in Nairobi.

The MPs' voice in the matter comes as Kenya grapples with runaway corruption that has put the Jubilee administration on the defensive as the opposition piles pressure on it ahead of the next general election.

President Kenyatta is expected to address the EALA MPs on November 29, at a special sitting that started Monday and will run up to November 30.

Mr Kidega said the EALA has sponsored a bill that would provide a legal framework for whistle-blowing through which East African citizens can report cases of corruption to relevant agencies.

The legislation, once it becomes law, will ensure those who volunteer information are protected to encourage more people to freely report those who engage in corruption.

On rising insecurity in South Sudan, the MPs called upon partner states to cooperate and find a lasting solution to the crisis.

“We are concerned about political confusion in the newest member state. We appeal to concerned parties, particularly elected leaders to work towards ending the stalemate,” Mr Kidega said.

SOUTH SUDAN

Other partner states in the East African Community (EAC) are Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

He said instability in South Sudan affects the EAC integration process whose founding objective was to deal with leadership crises among partner states and empower the country’s citizenry.

The MPs, however, declined to comment on whether it was viable for Kenya to withdraw its military from the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in protest after the force commander, Lt-Gen Johnson Kimani Ondieki, was dismissed.

“Details on why the troops were withdrawn is way beyond my sphere of understanding and the matter should be left to the generals to deal with,” Mr Kidega said.

However, the MPs called upon the EAC to look into peace in South Sudan, saying "it is the responsibility of all of us to promote peace" in the member states.

Lt-Gen Ondieki who had been the UNMISS commander since May, was replaced by Maj-Gen Chaoying Yang on November 3.

The fierce fighting in Juba pitting President Salva Kiir's government forces against those loyal to rebel chief Riek Machar has undermined the stability of the newest country in the region.

The MPs further decried inadequate funding for the EALA, saying it had affected their operations, forcing them to suspend some of their activities particularly in September and October.

Mr Kidega challenged partner states to honour their commitment to fund the assembly by December as agreed by the Council of Ministers to support the regional integration process.

“A major challenge the EAC faces today is funding… The remission by the partner states up to date paints a less than positive picture,” Mr Kidega said.

Burundi is leading the pack, with an outstanding balance of Sh11 million, followed by Tanzania at Sh7.8 million.

Rwanda and Kenya have not remitted Sh6.3 million and Sh6 million, respectively, whereas Uganda has the least debt of Sh923,000.