East African Community
PRESS RELEASE
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Thursday, 11th August, 2016: A
group of 14 adventurous cyclists who are on a five-day bicycling tour
of the East African Community region were this morning flagged off on
another leg of their long journey from the EAC Headquarters in Arusha,
Tanzania by the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political
Federation, Mr. Charles Njoroge.
The cyclists who left the Ugandan capital, Kampala on 1st July,
2016 on a two month tour of the five EAC Partner States are on a
mission to sensitize ordinary East Africans in addition to creating
awareness on the EAC integration process.
The team – whose trip is dubbed Tour D’EAC passed through left Nairobi on 8th July,
216 where they visited the State Department of East African Integration
headquarters in Nairobi. They then came to Arusha via Namanga after
several stopovers including Kajiado.
The
group members who embarked on the trip without sponsorship do not spend
the night in hotels but in public places including police stations,
schools, churches and camps. They also prepare their own food. They
endeavour to spend time with communities while educating and informing
them about the integration process.
Briefing
Mr. Njoroge on their itinerary, the group’s leader, Mr. John Balongo,
said they had embarked on the trip after realizing that most East
Africans including critical groups such as the media, police and
students at all levels were ignorant about the EAC integration process.
Mr.
Balongo said they had noted that knowledge about the East African
integration was limited to a select group of top government officials
but not the people at the grassroots who have no information on what the
integration entails.
“We
have come across security personnel and students who don’t know what
the EAC is all about. Many do not even know what the EAC Partner States
are. We therefore need to actively involve communities in the
integration so that they can own the process,” said Balongo.
He
said their ambition is to make the event biannual in addition to
involving cyclists from the other four Partner States to make
participation in the event fully regional.
Receiving
the group, Mr. Njoroge described their initiative as novel, brave and
inspiring saying it would go a long way in marketing the EAC integration
to the people at the grassroots.
The
DSG said the initiative was in line with various directives by the
Summit of EAC Heads of State to the EAC Secretariat and Partner States’
governments to educate the ordinary folk on the integration.
Mr.
Njoroge said the EAC would look at ways of supporting the initiative
including financing making it an annual event in collaboration with
other stakeholders. Mr. Njoroge later on flagged off the group whose
next destination is Bujumbura, Burundi.
The team is expected in Bujumbura on Sunday, 21st August, 2016 and Kigali, Rwanda on Thursday, 25th August,
2016. From Kigali, the group will travel through Kabale, Mbarara,
Masaka in Western Uganda before arriving at the Sudanese Embassy in
Kampala on 31st August, 2016.
Thursday, 1st September, 2016 will be the grand finale of the tour with a Closing/Awards Ceremony in the Ugandan capital city.
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| East African Bicycling Expedition Team Leader John Balongo speaking when they were received by the Deputy Secretary General (Political Federation), Mr. Charles Njoroge (seated right) at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. |
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| EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation, Mr. Charles Njoroge (fourth right, front row), with the 14 cyclists before he flagged them off on the next phase of their journey to Bujumbura, Burundi. |
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| EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation, Mr. Charles Njoroge (right), flags off the 14 cyclists who are participating in a two month tour of the EAC Partner States at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. |
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