New EAC HQ, has room for DRC, South Sudan

Mahesabu

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Jan 27, 2008
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From MARC NKWAME in Arusha, 17th April 2011 @ 19:30, :DAILY NEWS
THE new headquarters for the East African Community currently under construction in Arusha is creating room to host both Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The EAC Senior Estate Management Officer, Dr Phil-Makini Kleruu, said the design for the office premises is flexible enough to house many more countries that are likely to join the regional bloc.

According to available information from the EAC, Southern Sudan will be joining the community in July. So far the EAC members include the founders; Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and the two newcomers, Rwanda and Burundi.

According to Dr Kleruu, the EAC headquarters will be ready in September this year and once completed it will be one of the state-of-the-art buildings in Arusha.

It will also save the community quite some amount of money used for rent in some buildings in town. "The EAC spends US $ 500,000 (750 million/-) every year as rent at the Arusha International Conference Centre complex, the New Safari Hotel and the Diamond Building where its offices are currently housed," said the estate officer.

"The building will host the EAC Secretariat, the East African Legislative Assembly, the East African Court of Justice and 250 other offices," said the EAC estate officer.

The German government is funding the EAC headquarters construction to the tune of 35 bn/-.

"This is a grant, which means we don't have to repay the money," said Dr Kleruu.
However, while all other EAC member states have not contributed anything towards the construction of the new headquarters, the host Tanzania donated the 10 acre-plot, including several buildings inside, worth 1.8 bn/-.

The proposed EAC headquarters is a four-storey, three-wing building, standing on Plot number 12, Block 111 at Sekei area, adjacent to the Arusha International Conference Centre.

Two historical buildings, including one which once hosted EAC founders Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Milton Obote will be preserved and turned into a historical museum
 
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