Uganda backs EAC regional baseline survey

Press Release from EAC:

The Ministry of East African Comnmunity Affairs has commended the undertaking by the EAC Secretariat to conduct baseline survey on the regional integration process.

‘’Your baseline survey is very important as your mission’s findings will enable policy makers and planners with which speed to reckon in the deepening and widening EAC integration,’’ the acting Permanent Secretary Steven Niyonzima told the about ten-man EAC team which paid a courtesy call to the EAC Ministry before setting out for their first-leg in Uganda tomorrow.

He assured that his ministry would render full support to the team to ensure it completes it’s week-long mission succesfully in the country.

He said that EAC developed and approved the Communications policy last year and the baseline survey is in line with the aspirations of the Community. ‘’Our integration is for all East Africans and thus we need to know how the people are perceiving our efforts,’’ he told the delegation.

The EAC survey team’s leadert Sukhdev Chhatbar thanked the Ugandan government for demonstrating unwavering commitment to the regional integration process.

Mr Chhatbar, a media expert, said that baseline survey would enable the Partner States make the Community vibrant and attractive.

The study, to be undertaken in all five Partner States of Burundi, Kenya,Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, will be conducted between 16 July and 24 August, 2013. The study will be conducted both through on line questionnaires https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EACIntBrandSurvey and field face-to-face interviews in selected and strategic cities and border towns.

The study is expected to give us an insight into how some of the key target audiences perceive EAC, how well they know it, how familiar they are with the symbols of the EAC and how they assess its performance in reaching out to them.

The study would seek to review how key messages get across visually and how EAC was perceived by the EA citizens and what’s the way forward.

The project’s objective is to find out if EAC’s corporate identity and its corporate images were consistent with the aspirations of the East Africans and met the lofty goals of the Treaty.

That is to say whether the perception of the external target audience is coherent with what EAC perceives itself and the strategic platform (Vision, Mission, Strategic Goals and Core Values) of the Community.

Two core teams have been set out to facilitate the physical interviewing process. One team has headed to Uganda ( survey points: Kampala, Lira, Fort Portal and Busia border); Kenya ( survey points Nairobi, Mombasa and Eldoret) and; Tanzania ( survey points Dodoma, Mwanza, Sirari border and Zanzibar) whilst the other will cover Burundi ( survey points :Makamba, Muyinga and Cibitoke) and; Rwanda ( survey points Musanza and Nyagatere).

The interviewing team includes volunteers such as journalists who have been trained by EAC and GIZ on the regional integration process, some EAC Youth Ambassadors,best debaters, students and delegated officials from the Partner States’ Ministries of EAC.

The baseline survey has been facilitated by the German Development Agency (GIZ).