Source: All Africa
The Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers and Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism in Kenya; Hon. Phyllis Kandie today officially launched the EAC Information Resource Centre.

Hon. Phyllis Kandie congratulated the EAC Secretariat for achieving this great milestone and emphasized the critical role the Resource Centre in sensitizing the EAC citizenry, noting that; “utilization of information and research data should be used not only to fuel growth and development within the region, but also to spark interest in the EAC integration agenda especially among the youth.

She urged the Centre to organize and package information on EAC integration in a way that is both understandable and user-friendly enough to the people of East Africa to have the intended impact.

The Chairperson of the Council applauded the development partners, specifically the European Union for their technical and financial support to the Resource Centre and assured that the Council of Ministers’ support to further develop the Centre.

In his welcoming remarks, the Secretary General of the East African Community Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera affirmed that digitization of all EAC information resources would improve accessibility of EAC information, preserve it in a digital format and also improve information sharing with EAC Organs and Institutions, Partner States, consultants, researchers, development partners and the general public.

The Secretary General reiterated that Article 71 of the Treaty for the Establishment of EAC mandates the EAC Secretariat to promote and disseminate information on the Community to the stakeholders, general public and the international community. “This Resource Centre therefore is part of that initiative”, said Amb. Sezibera.

While guiding the guests on the Resource Centre tour, the EAC Principal Librarian and in charge of the Resource Centre; Mrs. Sarah Kagoda Batuwa said that the need for a robust library at the EAC Secretariat was identified way back in 1997 when a Communication needs study was conducted.

“Consequently, a library was established and housed on 5th Floor Kilimanjaro wing, AICC building in 1999″, said Batuwa, adding in November 2012, the EAC library was moved to the new EAC headquarters and under the funding from the European Union Regional Integration support Program (RISP) last December, the Library was equipped, furnished and transformed into a one-stop Resource Centre.

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