THE East African Community (EAC) will pocket 12m US Dollar (27.6bn/-) as a supplementary appropriation for the current financial year that ends in June.

Presenting an approved $ 12m/- supplementary budget to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), Tanzania Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Co-operation, Dr Damas Ndumbaro, said the EAC Secretariat was set to receive $ 5.9m/- for its activities in the fiscal year which comes to an end in three months’ time.

Dr Ndumbaro, who was presenting the budget speech on behalf of the  Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers, Dr Richard Sezibera, further noted that EALA will receive $1.8m/- to its kitty, while the East African Court of Justice(EACJ) is expected to get $499,090 from the approved EAC’s budget.

“Another $2.1m/- will be earmarked for the Lake Victoria Basin Commission,” he told the attentive house.

According to Dr Ndumbaro, the East African Science and Technology Commission will receive $137,600 with another $161,784 being reserved for the East African Health Research Commission (EAHRC). 

The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO) is to receive $345,083 and the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA), $ 549,600 while the East African Competition Authority, will tap $97,450.

Earlier on, the Council of Ministers through Dr Ndumbaro, moved an amendment to the vote on the LVFO, reducing the original estimates downwards to the tune of $ 517,011. 

According to Dr Ndumbaro, a meeting that sat on May 5 last year had directed the LVFO to prepare for an action plan for the said amount, a directive which was not complied with and therefore, unsupported for this particular period.

“The said amount would be provided for during the next financial year,” he said.

The amount in question is in regard to obligation payable to the LVFO by the Republic of Burundi, according to the Chair of the General-Purpose Committee, Mr Abdikadir Aden.

The supplementary budget is to support a number of areas of the regional integration agenda.

At the Secretariat, some of the activities earmarked include provision of legal support to EAC policy meetings of organs and institutions, media engagements, capacity building and enhancing the financial sector development and regionalisation as well as that of the risk management framework.

Also included are activities of the defence liaison officers and the Directorate of Customs.

EALA on its part is expected to promote functional relations between itself and the Transitional National Legislative Assembly of South Sudan, facilitate the hosting of the Inter-Parliamentary Relations Seminar and enhance outreach and sensitisation activities while EACJ’s activities include launching of a sub-registry in the Republic of South Sudan and the attendant sensitisation of the judiciary and legal fraternity.

Source: Daily News

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