East African Business Week

ARUSHA, TANZANIA - Despite tabling a budget of $110m for the next financial year, the East African Community (EAC) secretariat needs a total of $25b in the next 10 years for the implementation of several road and railway projects.
The budget is to be debated by members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) this week.
Kenya's Assistant Minister for East African Community Peter Munya who read the budgetary proposals before the EALA said a number of roads are under implementation at the level of completion of engineering studies and funds mobilization for construction. These roads include the Arusha-Moshi-Hilili-Taveta-Voi road and the Bagamoyo-Tanga-Mombasa-Malindi highway while the extension of the Tanzania Central Railway from Isaka to Kigali and Bujumbura is on the fore front. "The programme under the East African Transport Development strategy and the long term roads development programme to 2018 are for regional interconnectivity undergoing and the estimated cost of these roads in the next 10 years is in excess of $25b," he told the assembly.
He, however, said the budget estimates for the financial year 2011-2012 totals to $109,680,319.
"This budget exceeds the previous year's approved budget by 41% which amounted to $32,015,876," he said in a budget speech presented last week in Arusha, Tanzania.
Personnel emoluments are estimated to take $20,672,339 out of the total of $109,680,319 while the recurrent expenditure will be $15,991,087 and $73m for development expenditure.  
Munya said priorities for the next financial year include the implementation of the EAC Common Market protocol for which $10,274,605 has been allocated and enhancing the EAC visibility at $1,564,190.
Conclusion of the EAC Monetary Union protocol whose negotiations started in January this year is estimated to cost $1,604,010 while deepening cooperation in defence, security and political matters is estimated to take $1,634,135.
He said implementation of the EAC institutional review recommendations and capacity building will take about $3,851,188 while $604,260 will be allocated to the promotion of agriculture, food security and climate change action plan.
Promotion of regional and multi-lateral trade is estimated to take $3,102,500 while expansion of regional infrastructure facilities is estimated to take $9,423,390.
The EAC also plans to implement the industrialization, investment and private sector development strategies at a cost of $169,990 and promote sustainable use of environment and natural resources, tourism and wildlife conservation at $42,504,445.
The Minister also tabled separate budget estimates for the Inter University Council for East Africa amounting to $12,444,241 for approval.
The budgets allocated to the EAC organs and institutions included $50,220,383 for the EAC secretariat, $11,679,682 for East African Legislative Assembly, $3,289,104 for the East African Court of Justice and $44,491,150 for Lake Victoria Basin Commission.