President Yoweri Museveni has said that he values the East African Community and the integration process.
Speaking after watching a ladies volleyball match between national parliaments of Uganda and Tanzania at the ongoing EAC inter-parliamentary games in Lugogo, Museveni said that the Community is critical for the survival of the people in the region adding that the East African market is bigger than all the member countries.
“If you talk of modernity, you cannot have a modern way of life without a market for what you produce,” Museveni said at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, 17 December 2019.
The President added that the East African integration is ‘a matter of survival. If you don’t see that, you are in a lot of trouble’.
“I can never miss an East African function. I have been in government for many years and if you check, I have never missed any,” he added.
On the volleyball game, Museveni said he last watched volleyball in 1967 adding that he was impressed with the skills exhibited by the players of the two countries.
The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, appealed to the summit of Heads of State to ensure the fast tracking of the East African integration process.
The Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, Martin Ngoga, said the EAC inter-parliamentary games have become a flagship for the East African integration process.
“These games are an important vehicle for parliamentary diplomacy,” he said.
Ngoga also revealed that the next games will be held in Arusha, Tanzania.
The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Tanzania, Dr Tulia Ackson, said that games are crucial for widening and deepening the integration process.
She appealed to the other presidents in the region to emulate President Museveni and his commitment to the games and East African community.
The 10th EAC inter-parliamentary games that have been running from 08 December close on Thursday, 18 December 2019.
