The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on Tuesday hailed Uganda for promptly deploying its troops in South Sudan to prevent the conflict from escalating.
Margaret Zziwa, EALA Speaker told the EALA opening session in the Ugandan capital Kampala that it was necessary to deploy troops there to avoid the fighting from degenerating. “The deployment was timely and is timely. Uganda has the obligation to prevent the conflict to degenerate further,” she said.
She said the deployment was in line with the agreement the Inter Governmental Authority on Development member countries had when they met in the Kenyan capital Nairobi late last month.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni who opened the session urged the EALA members to address the issue of sectarian conflicts which are stalling the region’s economic development.
He said some of the conflicts are fueled by foreigners who have selfish interests citing the fighting in neighboring South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.
During the session, the Assembly is likely to discuss the conflict in South Sudan and also the country’s application to join the East African Community (EAC), a regional economic bloc bringing together Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi.
The members will also discuss the EAC Disaster Risk and Management Bill, the EAC Integration (Education) Bill among others. EALA holds sessions in different member countries on a rotational basis.
