AMECEA: Urged to Collaborate with Regional Economic Blocs
Fr. Stephen Okello
Magdalene Njoki
The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) needs to seek ways of collaborating with regional economic blocs as it has a role to play in the political, social, economic, and cultural environments, the Catholic Priest serving as the Liaison Officer for the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar – African Union (SECAM-AU) office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has said.
While addressing Bishops and officials presiding over the Commission in the Promoting Integral Human Development (PIHD) in the AMECEA region on November 29, Fr. Stephen Okello said the Church’s interests are similar to those of the East African Commission (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), hence the need to collaborate.
EAC, IGAD, and COMESA member nations include those from the AMECEA region.
“The regional and membership configuration of AMECEA is commensurate with the three regional economic blocs. The political, social, economic, and cultural environments that the economic communities are addressing constitute the same context within which the AMECEA is focusing,” Fr. Okello said.
The member of the Institute of Consolata Missionaries (IMC) said that collaboration with the three economic blocs “would bring to the policy-making process an additional faith-based vision of the regional economic and political cohesion.”
He emphasized the need for collaboration saying, “You have a role that you must play at the policy-making level because those people have mainly political interests but we have other interests and we have very strong anthropology that backs our intentions.”
Fr. Okello noted that IGAD has expressed openness to collaborating with AMECEA and is waiting for more advances from AMECEA “with some interest.”
In his presentation to the over 30 participants at the two-day conference, Fr Okello said that should AMECEA consider collaborating with any of the regional blocs, they should engage based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) similar to that which SECAM is operating at the AU.
Fr. Okello added, “If you are going to make an MOU with one of the regional bodies, you must select your entry point so that you receive and give feedback through a specific channel. Our (SECAM) entry point is the Political Affairs Peace and Security (PAPS). This is the department with its directorate also specified.”
“Our first interest with AU is to address matters to do with peace, and security, conflict resolution, political affairs, and good governance. Things, the governance is on various issues such as how to manage the economy, climate change, and migration. We have, as core partners, other departments that have relevance to us,” he said.
