The East African Legislative Assembly has this Monday sworn in a new clerk for the assembly who is expected to serve the parliament for a period of five years renewable once.
While taking oath in front of the law makers in the regional assembly in Arusha, Tanzania, Mr. Alex Lumumba Obatre vowed to serve the parliament and the people of East Africa.
“I have just taken the oath and I know the implication of it and on the basis of the oath I can assure the house our service to you and ultimately to East Africans. I render my commitment and also assure you the commitment of the staff we are ready to serve,” said the new EALA Clerk Alex Lumumba Obatre after taking the oath.
The EAC staff recruitment process became controversial last year in October as the Ugandan law makers called for the recruitment process to be suspended arguing that “the ongoing recruitment has not been conducted in accordance with the fundamental principles of recruitment or the requirement to obtain the highest standards of efficiency.”
The controversy was centered on the recruitment of the clerk of the assembly and his deputy. The Ugandan law makers argued that Alex Lumumba Obatre a Ugandan candidate scored the highest marks against competitor Saidi Othman Yakubu as the latter was declared to take over the position.
“I worked with Obatre and he is a good hard working man and a lot of members have been asking for him whenever there arise need for his services,” said the EALA speaker Martin Ngoga.
The staff rules and regulations requires that the recruitment of staff be done by quota system which provides that partner states must have points for its citizens to be considered as eligible candidates.
Mr. Obatre is expected to serve the East African Legislative Assembly until 2027 with a possibility of renewing his term once.