Truck drivers in the East African Community (EAC) will be required to undergo a covid-19 test every two weeks. This is one of the recommendations of the Heads of State meeting at a virtual summit on Tuesday 12 May.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame held a virtual consultative meeting with the heads of state of the East African Community. The Heads of State asked the ministers concerned “to work immediately on a regional mechanism for the testing and certification of truck drivers. “According to the communiqué issued after the summit, the test will be organized before the departure of drivers at the point of origin every two weeks. A report will be made to the Heads of State.
The heads of state noted the importance of information sharing during a crisis such as the covid-19 pandemic. They called on the EAC Ministers of Health, Trade, Transport and Business to finalise and adopt a digital surveillance system for the EAC by partner states.
The Heads of State designated the Ministers responsible for Health, Transport and Business of East Africa to be the reference persons for the regional response to COVID-19 under the leadership of the Ministers of Health.
A need for flexibility
Heads of State agreed to meet regularly to review response efforts. They expressed the need for flexibility in the application of EAC rules and procedures in the face of a crisis such as a covid-19 pandemic.
The Rwandan Head of State and current Chairman of the EAC, Paul Kagame, had pointed to the lack of flexibility in the application of procedures as the cause of the postponement of the last summit. This was during a virtual press conference in favour of the national and international press on 27 April 2020.
Tanzania and Burundi, the latter of which is in the presidential campaign, did not participate in this summit. In the fight against covid-19, both countries had preferred to trust in God instead.
Gérard Rugambwa
