East Africa: Rwanda Hosts 2023 EAC Inter-Parliamentary Games

9 December 2023
The New Times (Kigali)
By Alexis Kayinamura

The 13th edition of the East African Community (EAC) Inter-Parliamentary Games is underway in Kigali, Rwanda. The latest event, happening from December 8-18, revolves around the theme: "For a progressive, peaceful, and all-inclusive EAC."

The official opening of the 2023 games was set for Friday at Kigali Pele Stadium, with EALA hosting Rwanda at 3:00pm.

The games will see the involvement of six EAC partner states: Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Burundi. The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) will also be taking part.

Sports disciplines

In this edition, the competition will feature eight sports disciplines; football, netball, athletics, tug-of-war, volleyball, walk race, golf, basketball, and darts.

Venues

Here's a breakdown of the venues for each sport: football (Kigali Pele Stadium), basketball (Lycee de Kigali Gymnasium), netball and volleyball (Ecole Notre Dame des Angels), athletics and walk race (Bugesera Stadium, darts (HillTop Hotel), Golf (Kigali Golf Club) while tug-of-war will take place at IPRC Kucukiro.

Role of the games

According to EALA Speaker Joseph Ntakirutimana, these games play a crucial role in fostering strong bonds among legislators and bringing out their competitive spirit.

''The games play a fundamental part in enabling EALA's interaction with Members of the National Parliaments in the Partner States as envisaged in Article 49 of the Treaty for the Establishment of EAC,'' Ntakirutimana said during a press conference in Kigali.

''At the same time, such games enhance interaction with the citizenry of the partner states and as a mode of sensitization popularizing the Integration process,'' he added.

Who participates?

Ntakirutimana said that unlike in past editions, this year's competition will only feature members of the parliament instead of all parliamentary staff.

"In the past editions, there were some small conflicts when some teams were accusing others of using players who are not their staff."

"From there, we decided that only members of the parliaments will be allowed to participate from this coming edition moving forward."

In which sports disciplines will Rwanda compete?

MP Donatille Mukabalisa, Speaker of the Rwandan lower house, said: "We [Rwanda] will be represented in all categories for both women and men.

''We encourage our people to attend the games and support our teams."

Read the original article on New Times.

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