EAC 

Sunday, June 29, 2014 

Germany provides cash for EAC projects

GETTING READY: Germany’s national broadcaster DW, will provide training for regional media workers.

ARUSHA, Tanzania - The Federal Republic of Germany will make available 24 million euros to the East African Community (EAC) for key regional integration sectors.

The EAC Secretary General, Dr. Richard Sezibera said the regional bloc would continue working closely with the Germany, as a key development partner.  “The Agreement we have signed shows that Germany is indeed our valuable partner,” Sezibera said last week.

Hans Koeppel, Chargé d´Affaires at the German Embassy in Tanzania, said: “The new commitments underline the fact that Germany continues to be a strong partner for the EAC, contributing to the integration process that has put the people in the centre.”

 Under the intergovernmental agreement with the EAC, Germany will support accelerating the growth of higher education and training of future journalists and media professionals.

In this regard the Germans intend to make available euro 14 million for the Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) at the Aga Khan University. This was recently set up as a Centre of Excellence for media education in East Africa.

The education and training programmes of the GSMC will have a strong regional focus and better quality, and will foster a diverse array of media leaders, enterprises and institutions that will be distinguished by high standards of competence, ethics, professionalism and social responsibility.

The GSMC will closely cooperate with the Deutsche Welle Akademie (DWA), which is the media development division of Germany’s well known international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).

The Germans have also committed a first tranche of euro 10 million to the ‘Trans boundary Water Supply and Sanitation Programme.

The programme to be executed with the Lake Victoria Basin Organisation (LVBC) brings together strategic areas in the EAC water and sanitation sector development.

In the provision of safe water to fight increasing pollution of water systems and to deal with climate-related challenges, The EAC and Germany believe that coordinated transboundary investment approaches are needed to cope with the growing demand.

Germany’s funding for Technical and Financial Cooperation with the EAC amounts to a total of euro 125.9 million and the country is the biggest supporter of the EAC on a bilateral basis.

By Elisha Mayallah, Sunday, June 29th, 2014