Tanzania's President John Magufuli. FILE PHOTO | DANIEL HAYDUK AFP
Among the highest-paid EAC staff are Secretary-General Liberat Mfumukeko, his deputies and the regional court judges, who earn more than Sh2 million per month each.
Also on the spot are the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) members, who take home up to Sh1,490,800 per month in salaries and allowances.
Under the austerity measures that take immediate effect, the secretariat has instead chosen to trim the cost incurred in holding regional meetings and hiring of consultants.
The changes announced on Wednesday state that no more than two delegates will be allowed to travel on the EAC budget from each member state to attend technical meetings.
Such meetings will also be attended by no more than three secretariat staff and should not drag beyond four days, the new guidelines state.
At least 25 per cent of the EAC meetings will henceforth be held via video conferencing, with the remaining held mostly in free-of-charge government-owned facilities, Mr Mfumukeko said.
Otherwise, the EAC procurement unit has been directed to negotiate for “corporate” conferencing and accommodation rates in each partner state.
“The secretary-general noted that the EAC organs and institutions had been experiencing liquidity challenges as a result of delays in disbursement of contributions by both the partner states and development partners,” the secretariat said in a statement.
The changes come just two months after President Magufuli took over on March 2 as chairman of the EAC Heads of State Summit, the bloc’s apex body, with a strict warning that the secretariat cut all unnecessary expenses.
The regional integration project has been in financial distress as donors scale down their support while member states have also been accused of failing to submit their contributions on time.
Figures tabled before the EALA last week indicate that the EAC would receive about Sh5.78 billion for its 2016/2017 programmes, Sh1.22 billion less than its current Sh7 billion budget.
Under the stringent expenditure guidelines, the secretariat staff will only be allowed to be away from their duty station(s) for not more than 50 per cent of their time even after getting travel clearance.
The guidelines say short-term studies and training will have to be cleared by the inter-sector committee in a bid to cut spending on consultancies.
The rules outlaw last-minute booking of air tickets, which normally attracts extra costs, and restrict per diem rates to levels recommended by donors.
The secretariat is expected to set up the Projects Coordination Unit by July 1 to act as a one-stop desk and repository for information on all projects.
In the meantime, the EAC top brass will continue to enjoy their allowances that include housing, education, dependency, insurance, medical, travel, mileage and language
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