DRC to deposit EAC admission instruments next week: Mathuki

The East African Community’s (EAC newly admitted member, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, has completed internal processes of ratifying the EAC treaty it signed in April and will now deposit instruments of that approval to the Secretary-General next week.

After DRC signed the Accession treaty of the EAC on April 8, becoming the seventh member of the bloc, the country was given five months to complete the process, which would see it integrated into the region.

Some of these processes included approval by Kinshasa’s parliament, and having its ministries and internal organs aligned with requirements of the EAC pillars such as the Customs Union and the Common Market Protocol.

EAC Secretary-General Peter Mathuki, who is currently in Uganda to attend the closing ceremony of the 12th EAC armed forces field training exercise, made the announcement on Friday.

“I can confirm from where I sit as the Secretary-General of the East African Community, I am in touch with DRC and as much as we had given them up to September to deposit instruments of ratification of their entry into the community, they want to deposit them next week,” he said.

Mr Mathuki added that the swift move by the authorities in Kinshasa signalled their commitment to the community.