The East African Legislative Assembly wants President William Ruto to call an extraordinary Heads of State Summit to address the cash crisis at the secretariat that has paralysed operations and threatens integration.

 

After a virtual sitting in which the 2025/2026 budget was presented, the MPs said it would not be business as usual if the status quo persists. They proposed structural reforms to enhance financial discipline and secure the bloc’s future.

Uganda’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for EAC Affairs Rebecca Kadaga warned that delays in contributions by partner states are stalling critical operations.“This situation undermines our work. We have presented proposals to the Heads of State, including creating a mechanism to enforce partner state commitments,” she said.

Kadaga also urged EAC leaders to explore alternative revenue streams to reduce overreliance on equal contributions, especially for countries under fiscal strain.

Zanzibar MP Abdullah Makame echoed her sentiments, calling for a Heads of State summit to candidly assess implementation challenges and ensure strict adherence to the community’s founding treaties and obligations.“The negotiating table has never failed us. We propose that the Heads of State meet, share the realities they face, and agree on sustainable solutions, including compliance with financial commitments,” he said.

MP James Millya from Tanzania is proposing a revised contribution formula.

Another member, Anjella Kizigha, proposed penalties for persistent defaulters, drawing inspiration from the African Union’s policy of suspending voting rights for members who delay payments for over two years.“For partner states proven to have deliberately defaulted without just cause, proportional sanctions could be imposed. This would uphold the rule of law within our integration framework,” she said.

The $109 million budget tabled by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for EAC Affairs and Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers, Beatrice Askul Moe in a virtual sitting sets out a bold vision for inclusive economic transformation anchored on domestic resource mobilisation and strategic investment.

It is a climbdown from the $112.9 million approved for the 2024/2025 financial year, and now it is under scrutiny of the Assembly’s General Purpose Committee, ahead of a plenary debate and final approval.

It comes in the face of biting funding shortages that have seen many programmes stall. For instance, the assembly had to borrow $660,690 from other EAC organs and institutions to support the budget approval process.

Meanwhile, a human resource haemorrhage is underway, with the Secretariat admitting that it is facing a crisis that is weighing heavily on operations of its key institutions and organs.

Deputy Secretary General for Customs, Trade and Monetary Affairs Annette Mutaawe Ssemuwemba said four officers from the Directorate of Customs and Trade, whom she described as having been instrumental in guiding the sector, would be leaving by the end of this year, impacting the directorate’s capacity to fulfil its mandate.

The secretariat has been unable to fill vacancies of up to 150 staffers whose recruitment was frozen in 2024. More than 30 staffers from senior job cadres are set to exit at the end of the year after the expiry of their contracts.

Ms Ssemuwemba told a Council of Ministers meeting that delays in recruitment and a high turnover of staff across the EAC organs and institutions continued to affect performance.

She pointed out that delays in recruitment and a high turnover of staff across EAC organs and institutions continued to affect performance,” says the report by the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment (SCTIFI) that The EastAfrican has seen. “She informed the meeting that four officers from the Directorate of Customs and Trade, who had been instrumental in guiding the sector, would be leaving by the end of the year. This, she added, would impact the directorate’s capacity to fulfil its mandate.”The EAC is facing a financial crisis for the third time in a single financial year after some partner states failed to remit full budget contributions, delaying most programmes and stalling development.

Partner states owe the bloc more than $62.4 million in arrears for the 2024 financial year. Each partner state is required to remit $7 million annually, which contributes about $56 million to the EAC budget. But, by March this year, $27.1 million (48 percent) had been remitted, leaving the secretariat with a budget hole of $28.9 million three months before the end of the financial year.

Paid full duesOnly Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have paid their full dues for the 2024/2025 financial year. Rwanda contributed 75 percent, Somalia 50 percent, Burundi 19 percent, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 14 percent, and South Sudan only seven percent.

Salaries for the EAC Secretariat staff have been delayed and the assembly forced to put on ice its programmes even as the regional court grapples with a backlog of casesThe new budget requires partner states to contribute 62 percent ($67.76 million) and development partners to give 38 percent ($41.58 million).

The key areas of focus for FY 2025/2026 are bolstering regional peace, security, and political stability. Ms Moe said despite geopolitical shocks, climate change and declining international aid, the EAC remains resilient.

Further investment is also planned in infrastructure, ICT, and social sectors to enhance connectivity and productivity across the region. The budget further stresses institutional empowerment to ensure the effective delivery of integration goals.

But, behind the figures lies a pressing financial strain.

In the FY 2024/2025, the EAC’s approved budget of $112,984,442 was to be financed 61 percent by partner states ($67.79 million) and 39 percent by development partners ($43.94 million).

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