Rail Integration And Regional Connectivity: Eng. Achieng’ Akun Beatrice On The EAC's Mission And Challenges

Railways Africa

In this edition of Coffee with the Editor, Eng. Achieng’ Akun Beatrice discusses the role of the East African Community (EAC) and its mission to integrate the region through various policies and infrastructure development programmes. We touch on topics from project preparation, to standards, and harmonisation for seamless operability and connectivity. The East African Community is a regional intergovernmental organisation with member states from the East African region. Currently, the community has eight member states: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Somalia, the latest entrant. The EAC aims to create a competitive, prosperous, secure, and stable East African region. The mission is to achieve an integrated East African region with political, economic, and socio-cultural integration for the betterment of life for the people within the East African region. Additionally, the episode delves into the challenges of standardising railway systems across different countries and the ongoing efforts to harmonise these standards for better interoperability. The discussion also touches on the importance of digitalisation and predictive maintenance in improving infrastructure management and planning.