EALA sessions to be held in Nairobi

Members of East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) will be holding sittings in Kenya for the next three weeks.
According to  speaker of EALA Ngoga Karoli Martin who was addressing a joint parliamentary meeting of members of National Assembly and Senate at Parliament Buildings on Monday, the sittings will mark the commencement of the 5th meeting of the 1st session of the 4th assembly to be held in Nairobi from Monday May 28, to end on June 15.
During their stay in the country, members of EALA expect President Uhuru Kenyatta to officially address them and become the third head of state to address the assembly.
According to Karoli, the EALA shall engage in among other businesses, receiving the East African Community (EAC) Budget speech that shall be delivered by the chair of council of ministers.
The assembly is expected to debate and approve the budget.
EALA will also debate and enact three key pieces of legislation, administration of EALA Bill 2018, the EAC appropriation Bill and the EAC supplementary appropriation Bill 2018 and considering of reports and pending matters from various committees of the assembly.
Their other activities will be to consider several motions and questions brought before the House, and also have an opportunity to interract with a number of stakeholders, including participating in the National Madaraka Day celebrations.
He further disclosed that EALA has in the past 6 months, after its inauguration, held four sittings and passed two laws; the East African Monetary Institute Bill 2018 and the EAC Oaths Bill 2018.
“We look forward to working together with the council of ministers on other related legislations such as the EAC Financial Services Bill and the EAC Statistics Bureau Bill, and to anchor the foundation of this crucial pillar of integration,” Karoli said.
The assembly has similarly passed 4 resolutions and a similar number of reports.
In April 2018, the assembly carried out an on-spot assessment of the region and the findings were presented to the House in May 2018, and reported developments and challenges in significant proportions.
He added that the assembly has embarked on the pending work which was left unfinished by the 3rd assembly, and that it runs concurrently with their initiative as the 4th assembly.
“We shall continue collaborating with all the council of Ministers and other stakeholders to ensure that the EAC bloc is strengthened,” added Karoli
By Everlyne Muthoni/Alice Katunge