East African Business Week

ARUSHA, TANZANIA-East African Community (EAC) Secretary General Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera has said that delay by the regional inter-governmental organization to develop different mechanisms of funding its activities could be one of possible challenges to the implementation of the fourth five-year (2011-2016) development strategy.
"It is now becoming inevitable for the community to consider a different mechanism of financing its activities," he said in a briefing on the ongoing programmes and projects in each of the EAC Organs and Institutions of the community to the Chairperson of the Summit of EAC Heads of State and President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza.
The meeting that was convened for the heads of EAC organs and institutions was recently held in Bujumbura, Burundi.
EAC Organs include the EAC Secretariat, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and the East African Court of Justice among others.
Institutions include the East African Civil Aviation safety and security Oversight Agency (CASSOA); Inter University Council of East Africa (IUCEA); Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO); East African Development Bank (EADB); and Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC).
He said that the development strategy aims at consolidating the benefits of a fully fledged Customs Union, implement the EAC Common Market Protocol, establish the East African Monetary Union and to lay the foundation for a Political Federation.
It also aims at developing regional infrastructure, strengthen the regional competitive and sustainable productive and Social Sectors to support regional and global integration process and strengthen the Service Support Sectors.
 "We also want to strengthen and enhance the mandate of EALA, enhance the design of the Court under the Treaty, promote sustainable utilization and management of the Lake Victoria Basin resources among others," he said in a statement issued last week.
 "However I envisage four major strategic challenges that were likely to confront the community during the lifetime of the EAC forth development strategy and one of them is the need for the development of a different mechanism of financing the activities of the Community which is now inevitable,' he said.
He pointed out that the current method of equal contribution by partner states was onerous on their budgets and yet was inadequate for the needs of a growing Community.
"That is why about 70% of our budget is currently financed by development partners. This is neither desirable nor sustainable," he said.
"Some of our Institutions, like the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) should also be allowed to have special financing mechanisms, like a surcharge on air tickets as an example," noted the Secretary General.