By Dorothy Musyoka
National Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Moses Wetang’ula, in his capacity as the President of the Bureau of East African Community Speakers, has called for unity in the upcoming East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Games.
Speaking during a meeting with the Uganda Parliamentary Sports Club, led by its Chairperson Hon. Basalirwa Asuman, the Speaker commended Uganda for agreeing to host the games despite its preparations for national elections.
“We look forward to coming to Uganda,” he said, emphasizing his earlier appeal to EAC nations to leverage sports as a tool for cohesion. Sports bring people together; it breaks barriers, whether race or tribe. We must encourage unity of purpose,” Speaker Wetang’ula noted.
He reiterated the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in advancing regional integration, describing the games as a valuable platform for deepening cooperation.
“We are going to compete on neutral grounds. It’s about bringing people together. We should mean business when we talk about integration; we need to have free movement of people, goods, and services,” he added.
Acknowledging challenges affecting the effectiveness of the integration process, the Speaker noted that steps had already been taken to address emerging challenges.
“We should be big on the question of economics and how to grow our people; we must keep the spirit of the East African Community,” he added.
The hosting of the EALA Games in Uganda was officially announced last month in Munyonyo, Kampala, during a gathering of Speakers and Presiding Officers of EAC Member States’ legislatures.
The Ugandan delegation’s visit to Nairobi was part of a benchmarking mission to learn from Kenya’s successful hosting of the games last year.