State apathy blamed on EAC difficulties

Analysts believe that the financial crisis facing the East African Community (EAC) is partly due to the lack of commitment on the part of some partner states.

According to them, liquidity problems have worsened in recent years due to the inability of some countries to pay their contributions on time.

"We are good at signing treaties and protocols, but little to translate our words into action," said activist Salim Said Salim of Zanzibar.

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), a key body of the EAC, announced Monday that it had canceled its session in Zanzibar due to lack of funds.

Eala Clerk Kennedy Madette said the postponement was due to delays in the partner states' budgetary funds.

But Mr Salim, a former journalist, said that if all the partner countries had been engaged, the financial constraints would have been avoided.

He also suggested that due to a lack of resources, Eala should consider reducing the number of its sessions and their duration.

Between $ 300,000 and $ 400,000 are needed for a two to three week session. The money is for compensation and other costs.

In the current framework, Eala holds six sessions a year in total to debate bills introduced and reports from various committees. At least two sessions are held in Arusha.

Mr. Reuben Shija said that the cost reduction should include Eala, which holds all its sessions in Arusha, its current headquarters and that of the EAC.

However, the chairman of Tanzania's Eala branch, Abdullah Makame, said the cancellation of the meeting was a setback for the process of integration.

He said the members were supposed to approve the EAC Monetary Union and other supplementary budgets.

"Some EAC ministers requested funds for the implementation of various projects, which needed to be discussed," he said.

Dr. Makame added that Eala members hoped that the summit of heads of state scheduled for Friday would discuss the issue.

Since its inauguration in 2001, the regional parliament has held sessions in the capital cities of the EAC Partner States, in turn, and in Arusha.

A business consultant, Mr Simon Mapolu, said that Eala's cash crisis and, by extension, the EAC were a source of frustration for those engaged in regional integration.

"The EAC has expanded rapidly. Our decision-makers should have ensured that this expansion took into account the block's financial capacity, "he said. The citizen.

He wondered why no action had been taken against partner States that delayed the sending of funds to the EAC, noting that some States had arrears of contributions for years. years.

EAC partner states are Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan.

South Sudan, the last member to date, had not paid anything for the year 2018-2019 by Monday, while none of the other five members had paid their contribution. 100%.

Each country is expected to contribute $ 8.3 million to EAC coffers in that year.

Leading hotelier Walter Maeda said chronic financial difficulties had slowed down the integration process. "This is very serious," he said after learning of the postponement of the Zanzibar session, noting that the reduction in donor donations was also worrying.