Somalia hoisting flag at eac headquarters

The EAC Secretariat said in a statement at the weekend that Somalia will be depositing instruments of ratification with the secretary general, Dr Peter Mathuki, as inches much closer to formal membership and engagement in the regional bloc.

The ceremony will be held at a moment when Tanzania is still in the seven-day mourning period following the death of the country’s second president, Ali Hassan Mwinyi and all flags are flying at half mast, in which case the Somalia colours will also be raised only halfway.

Somalia signed the treaty of accession at the Entebbe State House back in December, with the president, Sheikh Hassan Mohamud pegging his signature to the treaty witnessed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, o the chairman of the EAC Summit, that is, the assembly of Heads of State, in the company of host president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

Somalia’s admission was accepted during the 23rd ordinary summit in Arusha where the Heads of State considered the report of the EAC Council of Ministers on negotiations with the Somalia authorities and resolved to admit Mogadishu as a full member of the community.

Within six months after signing the treaty, Somalia was required to deposit the instruments of ratification with the EAC Secretariat, meanwhile as the Council of Ministers was tasked to develop a roadmap for the integration of Somalia into EAC organs.

A report of progress in that direction was to be presented to the next meeting of the summit for evaluation by the other partner states, namely Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.

Certain section of the secretariat hinted that Ethiopia and the Sudan were also showing obvious interest to join the regional block.