The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is demanding immediate action by the regional bloc’s ministers on an audit report that has exposed financial irregularities at the East African Community Secretariat, even as a public notice issued by the Arusha-based office says no misuse or loss of funds had been reported. 

EALA Speaker Dan Kidega, said the East African Community Council of Ministers must punish those found culpable, and demand accountability before its next sitting in Bujumbura mid next month. 

“We expect that the action taken by the ministers on the audit findings will be part of the report they will table to us in Bujumbura,” said Mr Kidega.

The Assembly will also be waiting to hear what policy measures the members will have contemplated to stop the misuse of funds.

But in a notice released on Tuesday, the EAC Secretariat said that the audit report did not portray misuse or loss of any funds, nor governance weaknesses or executive negligence. 

“It simply tables audit findings that point to areas that need to be strengthened in our systems,” the notice reads.

The internal audit report, published by the EALA budget committee, raised questions on financial mismanagement, questioning payments for travel allowances and pointing out inconsistencies in procurement.

READ: Audit unearths widespread wastage amid budgetary strain, low funding

In response to the audit findings, the Secretariat said that all activities approved by the Assembly were executed within the envelopes appropriated.

“In the course of budget execution, there were variations of cost of inputs such as air tickets, conference facilities, refreshments, transport and stationery. These variations were duly approved by management, without exceeding the overall budget planned for that activity,” the Secretariat says.

The notice, issued by the Secretariat’s Department of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs adds: “All these activities were approved by the Assembly, subject to a calendar of activities approved by the Council of Ministers, in respect of all other Council decisions on the matter, and received operational clearance by management.”

It also notes that, for the first time in the Secretariat’s history, all organs and institutions of the EAC had received an unqualified (clean) audit opinion from the Audit Commission.

The Secretariat said debate on the report had been adjourned to allow for the Council of Ministers and management of the EAC to provide clarifications and additional information in order to allow for informed debate by the regional Assembly in its coming session in Burundi.

Peter Mathuki, an EALA MP from Kenya, said the findings reflected what had been happening at the Secretariat for a long time and that the issues raised should be addressed appropriately.

A former EAC staff member said the issues in the audit had been raised before but no action was taken.

According to Jason Kap-Kirwok, country director of the TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) Kenya programme, following concerns raised earlier on the wastage of money, especially on travel expenses, the agency had, in partnership with the member states, set up $2.2 million media conference facilities in the respective countries and at the Secretariat to reduce the number of meetings held outside the headquarters in Arusha.

“These will be launched just before the EAC Heads of State Summit scheduled for February 20,” said Mr Kap-Kirwok.

The EAC holds more than 800 meetings in a year or three meetings per day. If teleconferencing was used for just a fifth of the meetings, Mr Kap-Kirwok said, "up to $2 million would be saved annually.”

However, experts say that the efficient use of the system would only depend on the IT proficiency of the EAC employees and their willingness to adopt it.

On the issue of personnel, EAC sources said an institutional audit that has been ongoing for two years should be finalised to identify areas of reform.   

The reforms would determine whether the personnel at the Secretariat had the right skills.

“There is low staff morale and an institutional audit would stop this. It would look at whether salaries and benefits are adequate,” said the source.
The audit report also notes that there has been an unnecessary delay in finalising the institutional review (aimed at providing effective frameworks and resources to match.)

“So far over $1 million has been paid to the contractor who was to finalise the review process a long time ago. This points to how projects at EAC are not keenly supervised,” notes the report.

The report indicates that the institutional review contract was signed in January 2013, between the EAC and Wyg, a consultancy firm, to undertake a detailed review of the EAC at a contract sum of $116,500 excluding reimbursables. Wyg was to conclude the review within four months from the effective date.

A draft report was issued nine months ago but there is no indication a validation workshop has been held. It is also not clear whether the contract period has been extended because the consultant has not moved to the next phase.

“The institutional review exercise has cost the Community a lot of money characterised by spending over and above the budget,” said EALA.

 There have been calls for the EAC Secretariat to be graduated into a commission.

However, Wanyama Masinde, an integration expert, said this would be futile until the underlying issues were resolved.

“Even if you are called a commission and have weak structures and poor skills, nothing will change,” said Dr Masinde.