THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA
ECA
EASTERN AFRICA SUBREGIONAL OFFICE (EA/SRO)
3.The ECA and Africa
Major achievements of the Commission in the Continent include the establishment include the establishment of the African Development Bank(ADB), the Panafrican Telecommunication Network (PANAFTEL), the formulation and promotion of two transport and communication Decades Programmes, contribution to the establishment of regional economic groupings and their instruments (ECOWAS, ECCAS, CEPGL, UDEAC…), the creation of technical centers in strategic areas such as mining, remote sensing, cartography, technology, manufacturing and design, standardization…).
The formulation economic development policies and strategies including adjustment approaches, support to subregional projects such as the KBO Tsetse fly control project, the interconnection of electricity grids in West Africa and the Great Lakes area, the establishment of Subregional Development Bank including the Nairobi - based P.T.A Bank etc…The training of planners and economic management agents at its Institute for Training in Development Planning (IDEP) etc…
4.The ECA And Rwanda
Rwanda is a member or a potential member of COMESA, CEPGL, KBO, EAC and several other regional/subregional sectoral organizations which have been established with ECA’s assistance and supported in programme formulation and implementation by the Commission for the benefit of member-countries.
Rwanda has hosted the Multinational Programming and Operational Center of ECA for the Great Lakes Countries (MULPOC) in Gisenyi from 1979 to 1994.
Apart from the support provided by MULPOC to CEPGL and KBO in the design and launching of important projects such as the Great Lakes Development Bank (BDGL), the Ruzizi Power Plant and its interconnected grid, the Agricultural Research Center (IRAZ), the establishment of a KBO Documentation Unit, the KBO Tse-tse Control Programme, etc., the ECA has cooperated and is cooperating with the Government of Rwanda in the area of:
- Capacity building for development planning and economic management
- Information technology
- Transport and trade facilitation
- Decentralized financial systems in support of community development
- Gender
- Lake Basin Development through KBO
- Economic analysis including prospective analysis
- Mining and industry
- Food security
- Population and environment
Work is underway in some of these areas and areas of importance for Rwanda’s involvement in COMESA : studies have been completed for the establishment of a self financing mechanism for the funding of COMESA activities on a more reliable basis for the creation of a compensatory scheme to minimize revenue losses and ensure transfers to least developed countries including Rwanda to facilitate their participation in the integration process and help them catch up with other countries.
Compensatory transfers would be directed to infrastructure improvement and human resources development. These are two factors contributing to a country’s viability to attract investments.
The ECA East Africa Subregional Office was established and headquartered in Kigali. It covers 13 countries. It is an operational arm of the Commission. The Center focuses on fostering Regional Cooperation along the lines described earlier in this note. It also provides services on request to individual member States in the above indicated five strategic areas.
In addition to the core Group of Experts available in Kigali, the EA/SRO is backstopped by ECA HEADQUARTERS EXPERTS, SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISERS and EXPERTS from the thirty ECA –sponsored Regional Technical Centers.
Contacts:
ECA/EA-SRO
KIMIHURURA III
PO.BOX: 4654 KIGALI
TEL: (250)586544 /8 /9 ; (250) 510675 /6 /7
FAX: (250)586546
E-mail: easrdc@uneca.org
Website: www.uneca.org
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