A high dependency on donors is threatening the smooth implementation of the East African Community’s budget especially now with donors reportedly unwilling to disburse funds for the last budget over financial abuse claims.

Sources say that donors contributing to the EAC Partnership Fund have issues with the Secretariat’s management of funds and thus decided to temporarily withhold their budgetary support for the 2013/14 budget. Donors are reported to have demanded the audited reports on the expenditure of funds that had earlier been disbursed to the Secretariat before releasing more funds.

Sweden, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Norway and United Kingdom contribute to the EAC Partnership Fund. Other non-contributing members are European Commission and the World Bank.

The 2014/15 regional budget estimates presented last week stand at $125 million, of which nearly 60 per cent will need to be contributed by donors. In his presentation, Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for EAC Affairs Abdallah Saadala said out of the $125 million budget, donors should provide $73 million, while $42 million will be provided by partner states.

The $10 million balance will come from other sources. In the 2013/14 budget of $133 million, development partners were to contribute $90.2 million — equivalent to 68 per cent — while partner states were to foot $43.1 million — equivalent to 32 per cent.  

East African Legislative Assembly member Shyrose Bhanji told The EastAfrican that donor dependence on funding the EAC budget was a matter of grave concern and the trend should be reversed immediately.

This year’s budget prioritises the operationalisation of the Single Customs Territory, including the setting up of an institutional framework to manage it; the full implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol; other key areas include development of cross-border infrastructure; implementation of the roadmap towards the EAC Monetary Union; implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (Comesa-EAC-Sadc) and the sensitisation of East Africans towards deepened integration.  

The budget is allocated to the organs and institutions of the EAC namely: East African Community Secretariat ($76 million), East African Legislative Assembly ($15 million) and the East African Court of Justice ($5 million). The Inter-University Council for East Africa shall receive $9 million, Lake Victoria Basin Commission $13 million while $2.8 million is earmarked for the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation. 

When contacted for clarifications, the EAC Secretariat’s head of department, corporate communications and public affairs Owora Richard Othieno told The EastAfrican that the Secretariat has experienced some delay in disbursement of funds from the development partners in the past couple of months.