By PAMELLA SITTONI
In Summary
- East African Community Secretary-General Liberat Mfumukeko has introduced cost-cutting measures and changes in operations at the Arusha headquarters, which he hopes will put the cash-strapped Secretariat on a strong financial footing and inspire fresh confidence with development partners.
- Mr Mfumukeko expects to save up to $6 million a year in cost-cutting measures he has begun implementing.
- The first four months of his tenure have been far from smooth, with strong opposition to his management style and stringent financial controls.
East African Community Secretary-General Liberat Mfumukeko
has introduced cost-cutting measures and changes in operations at the
Arusha headquarters, which he hopes will put the cash-strapped
Secretariat on a strong financial footing and inspire fresh confidence
with development partners.
Mr Mfumukeko expects to save up to $6 million a year in cost-cutting measures he has begun implementing.
In his first interview with The EastAfrican since he
took office on April 26, Mr Mfumukeko said he will prioritise activities
with direct impact on the livelihoods of East Africans in addition to
the upstream policy work the Secretariat has been engaged in.
“Let us go back to the basics. The overall direction is to put
money where we can respond to the basic needs of the people,” he said.
The first four months of his tenure have been far from smooth,
with strong opposition to his management style and stringent financial
controls.
He has also faced criticism from the opposition in Burundi for
what is believed to be his political leaning as a former insider in the
Burundian government, where he once served as President Pierre
Nkurunziza’s advisor on economic affairs.
Politically, his position as Secretary-General is precarious,
coming at a time when his country is facing a political crisis following
the president’s decision to extend his stay in power.
The opposition is suspicious of his role in the Dialogue on the
Burundi Peace Process chaired by Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, and
the talks being led by Tanzania former President Benjamin Mkapa.
Then there is the question of bilateral relations between Rwanda
and Burundi, which he says needs an urgent solution “so that meetings
can be held in accordance with the EAC calendar of activities.” Again,
the situation is believed to present a conflict of interest for Mr
Mfumukeko.
Coincidentally, it was on the day Mr Mfumukeko took office that
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, who is the chairman of the EAC,
strongly criticised the Secretariat for its excesses, and told its
officers to clean up their act.
“Stop being a parasite,” President Magufuli warned the body.
“I immediately started looking at how to reduce costs to
salvage our image. I involved all staff in looking at our financial
position and coming up with measures to cut costs. So, it has been a
consultative process,” said Mr Mfumukeko.
However, implementation of reforms could prove difficult.
Already, 11 project staff have filed a case in the East African Court of
Justice, challenging Mr Mfumukeko’s decision to terminate their
contracts.
It is a scenario expected to repeat itself as Mr Mfumukeko implements measures contained in an administrative circular titled “Expenditure Rationalisation Reforms.”
The document, provides for, among other things, termination of
staff contracts, “where a project faces delayed payments for more than
three months without communication for the delay or commitment on
further disbursement from the development partner.”
His first target for cost-cutting was travel — with good
reasons. Mr Mfumukeko assumed office against the backdrop of a damning
audit report that revealed massive irregularities. The report
highlighted travel as one of the trouble spots.
To cut travel costs, the Secretary General has reduced the
duration of external meetings, as well as the number of participants.
For example, no staff member will be allowed to be away from their duty
station for more than 50 per cent of the year.
In a circular to staff, dated May 18, 2016, Mr Mfumukeko said
technical meetings should not exceed four working days and the number of
delegates from each partner state who can be facilitated through the
EAC budget should not exceed two. In addition, EAC delegations to
technical meetings should not exceed three people.
The measures also include reductions of per diem for travel
associated with donor-funded projects to bring the rates at par with
those of the funding agencies, as well as a more stringent travel
approval system.
“But these are areas that touch on people’s bread and butter and
the changes are not easy for them. President Magufuli demanded better
management. Well, better management comes at a cost,” he noted.
Mr Mfumukeko has also moved to tighten controls in procurement
after it emerged that insurance covers for staff medical and life
insurance, worth about $1 million had been awarded without adherence to
procedure.
No comments:
Post a Comment