The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA) has embarked on a process to explore possible collaborations with the East African Community EAC. The process began on 28th July, 2015, when AMECEA Secretary General Fr. Ferdinand Lugonzo accompanied by AMECEA Justice, Peace and Caritas Coordinator Mr. Antony Mbandi met with EAC Secretary General Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera at EAC Secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania.
“The purpose of our visit to EAC was to start an engagement process with the East African Community which is based on the clerical call by the Holy Father Pope Francis that the Church has to engage more with the governments and in government decisions,” Antony Mbandi told AMECEA Online News adding that the move is also in line with what is being done by SECAM, in relation to the African Union collaboration.
He said that AMECEA Secretariat was mandated by the Bishops to look at how it can start engaging with the regional bodies which include EAC, IGAD and COMESA.
He said that during this initial meeting, they gave the intention of AMECEA to the East African Community and were well received by the EAC secretary General in the meeting which was also attended by EAC head of Communications as well as EAC Head of Conflict and Early Warning.
Some of the possible areas of collaborations presented by AMECEA to the EAC included promotion and protection of human life and dignity through sustainable development, promotion of good governance, preservation of the environment and natural resources, combating root causes of illegal forms of migration, combating illegal arms within the region, promotion of gender equity and promotion of sustainable peace and reconciliation through early warning systems.
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| Mr. Antony Mbadi, AMECEA Justice, Peace and Caritas Coordinator |
In his feedback, Amb. Sezibera said that the East African Community seeks to collaborate with institutions like AMECEA. He thanked the Catholic Church, in a more special way, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) for the way its curriculum is integrated and resonates well with the mission of the East African Community. He commended CUEA for allowing students from East African Community to pay fees like local students rather than charging them by international rates.
The AMECEA Justice, Peace and Caritas Coordinator said that the Secretary General of EAC directed that AMECEA be in touch with EAC director of social issues and EAC director of legal issues so as to deliberate more and concretize the areas proposed by AMECEA for possible collaborations.
“He also requested that we the Church participate more in the Interreligious Council of Eastern Africa, which he said for the East African Community is important as an engagement body for religious organizations,” Antony said.
Mr Mbandi added that the Secretary General of EAC also requested that AMECEA be more engaged in the Consultative Dialogue Framework of the East African Community and also the Secretaries General Forum, which comes within this consultative framework and has different themes and topics.
As a way forward Mbandi said that they will work a little bit more on the possible areas of collaboration in order to develop a framework that is mutually beneficial to AMECEA and EAC.
Source: Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News