East African Community Partnership Fund Receives Grant

According to recent reports, the East African Community (EAC) Partnership Fund has received a EUR 1 million grant through the German government’s Technical Cooperation (GTZ).

The grant agreement and the second implementation agreement were signed during a ceremony that was held at the EAC Secretariat in Arusha by the representative of the EAC deputy secretary-general for Finance and Administration, Dr. Julius Rotich, and the head of EAC GTZ Cooperation, Wolfgang Leidig.

The EAC Partnership Fund, which was originally launched in September 2006, is part of a larger fund that accepts contributions from development partners in order to fund activities of EAC regional integration and development.

Currently, the 12 contributing member countries include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom and non-contributing members include the European Union and the World Bank.

During the ceremony, Dr. Rotich, praised the German Government and their GTZ Cooperation on behalf of the EAC Secretary General, Juma Mwapachu, for their continued support of the EAC.

The deputy secretary general further explained that the signing of the agreements with development partners would not only result in the ability to predict the contribution that would be made to the Partnership Fund, but would also help to facilitate the development of multi-year plans.

Dr. Rotich went on to emphasize that the contributions of the German Government had doubled from 1.5 million Euros to 3 million Euros and thanked them for the other programs that they support within the EAC such as the EAC/GTZ Program on East African Integration and its various sub-sections, the Leadership Training and Coaching program that is organized by INWEnt and the project that focuses on introducing a Quality Infrastructure to the EAC through the German National Institute for Metrology (PTB).

In addition to this project, the German Government is also currently providing financial assistance for the ongoing construction of the EAC Headquarters, which is expected to be completed next year and will cost approximately 14 million Euros.

According to the head of EAC GTZ Cooperation, Wolfgang Leidig, the long history of cooperation between Germany and the EAC extends more than a decade, during which time the EAC has enjoyed many achievements, particularly with regard to the signing of the Common Market Protocol in 2009.

In addition, Mr. Leidig expressed his confidence in Germany’s continuous and future commitment to the East African integration process.