Africa-Press – Kenya. Harmonised legislation among East African Community member States is key in the operationalisation of regional treaties, a parliamentary committee has established.
Members of the National Assembly’s Regional Integration Committee said there was an urgent need to review legislation to make certain East African Community-related institutions operational.
The committee led by Fafi MP Farah Salah Yaqub was on a fact-finding mission on border operations in the Western and Nyanza regions.
Speaking during a visit to East African Community Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), Yakub noted that the institution was established 16 years ago but it had not been fully empowered with resources and personnel to execute its mandate.
LVBC Deputy Executive Secretary Coletha Ruhamya informed members of the delegation that the regional body was understaffed particularly in key areas of operation hence hindering the effective delivery of service.
She further indicated that member countries have not been reminting their annual subscription fees.
Coletha, however, told members that despite bottlenecks, plans were underway to complete the institution’s headquarters office which she hoped would give LVBC a home and a facelift.
The committee delegation also engaged the outgoing Kisumu County Commissioner, Josephine Ouko and underlined the need to come up with a harmonised law within East African member States to tackle arbitrary arrest of fishermen operating in Lake Victoria by neighbouring Uganda.
Ouko said the lack of harmonised law has seen Kenyans getting detained for up to one year in the neighbouring country.
MPs condemned the trend saying that the action goes against the spirit of integration of the EAC.
“Among other offences, Kenyans who cross to the Ugandan waters are arrested for lacking documents and using illegal fishing gear,” Ouko noted.
She proposed to have joint enforcement to effectively manage conflicts within the communities sharing the world’s second-largest fresh-water lake.
While at the Isebania – Sirare Border Post in Kuria East constituency, the committee raised concerns over low revenue collection.
Station manager, Geoffrey Langat, informed members that they had put in place measures to curb the smuggling of goods through verification of imported goods, land border patrols and lake patrols.
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