EAC Leaders to Meet in Arusha as Budget Defaults Stall Operations of Regional Bloc
Heads of state of the East African Community (EAC) are set to meet in Arusha later this week to address a deepening budget crisis that has left the regional bloc struggling to pay salaries, convene legislative sittings and sustain core programmes.
The summit comes as several partner states have fallen behind on their statutory financial contributions, widening a funding gap that officials say now threatens the smooth functioning of the bloc’s key organs.
The EAC, whose members include Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, operates on a model that requires equal annual contributions from each partner state to finance its budget.
However, compliance has been uneven in the current financial year.
Budget data reviewed ahead of the summit shows that Kenya and Tanzania have fully remitted their assessed contributions, while Uganda has paid a substantial portion of its obligation.
Rwanda has made partial payments. Burundi, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia have either remitted minimal amounts or are yet to settle significant portions of their dues.
The shortfall has pushed total arrears into tens of millions of dollars, combining both current and previous financial years.
The funding crunch has already disrupted operations at the bloc’s main institutions.
At the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), sessions have been delayed and some members and staff have gone months without salaries and allowances, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Planned oversight visits and committee work have also been scaled back.
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) has faced sporadic sittings and mounting case backlogs as budget constraints limit its operations.
Other agencies and commissions under the EAC framework have introduced hiring freezes, deferred projects and cut non-essential spending.
The bloc’s Secretariat has in recent years warned that persistent non-remittance undermines predictability in budgeting and weakens implementation of key pillars of integration, including the customs union, common market and monetary union roadmap.
The equal-share contribution formula, originally designed when the Community had only three members, is increasingly under scrutiny as membership has expanded to eight countries with varying economic capacities and fiscal pressures.
Diplomats say leaders meeting in Arusha are expected to deliberate on enforcement measures for chronic defaulters, possible sanctions provided for under the treaty, and whether to revise the financing framework to reflect economic size and ability to pay.
ligadwah@businessdayafrica.org