By CHRISTABEL LIGAMI
In Summary
- The Heads of State Summit usually held in November was postponed to January 2017 following a request by Tanzania for time to consult on whether the EAC–EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was viable.
- The partner states are also expected to make a decision on a proposed alternative funding mechanism to reduce reliance on donors. EAC relies on donors for up to 70 per cent of its budget.
The East African Community Heads of State are expected to
meet in a few weeks to discuss what direction the Community should take,
following a slow year of implementation of key integration projects.
The Heads of State Summit usually held in November was postponed
to January 2017 following a request by Tanzania for time to consult on
whether the EAC–EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was viable.
The EPA will be the key agenda at the summit. In November,
Tanzania’s parliament decided against signing the EPA, saying that the
country would not benefit from the deal.
The EAC partners, especially Kenya, hope to persuade Tanzania to
sign the agreement and that President John Magufuli will make a final
country’s decision. This will then allow the presidents to make a final
decision.
The EPAs were to be signed last July but Dar es Salaam asked the
EU to extend the deadline to January 2017 as it does a cost-benefit
analysis of the deal.
Kenya has already signed and ratified the EPA agreement while Rwanda signed the EPA agreement but it is yet to ratify it.
Uganda has indicated that it will sign while Burundi said it is
not in a position to sign the EPA because the EU had suspended services
with the government, while still working with the private sector and the
civil society.
Article 37 of the EAC Customs Union Protocol stipulates that the Partner States should sign the EPA as a bloc.
The other key agenda for discussion by the presidents at the beginning of the year will be the funding for the community.
The partner states are expected to make a decision on a proposed
alternative funding mechanism to reduce reliance on donors. EAC relies
on donors for up to 70 per cent of its budget.
Uniform concessions
The Heads of State Summit held in March 2016 resolved that
partner states consult on the option of funding the Secretariat’s budget
from uniform concessions from member countries and a new levy —
tentatively one per cent — targeting imports and exports.
The EAC was reported to have been facing a funding crisis that
stalled some of its projects as donors called for the isolation of
Burundi, whose president had won a controversial third term in office.
Meanwhile, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has
raised concern over the delays by partner states in remitting their
budgetary contributions to the EAC Secretariat
Of great concern is Burundi, which has so far not paid anything
for the 2016/2017 budget. Burundi only recently remitted its 2015/2016
contribution.
Of the 2016/17 budget totalling $101,374,589, each of the five
member countries is expected to contribute $47.5 million while the
development partners raise $46.7 million compared with $58.5 million
they disbursed to EAC for 2015/2016 financial year. The rest of the
funds will come from other sources.
Uganda is so far leading in its payment and has paid 88.9 per cent of the amount due.
Kenya has paid only 28 per cent of the total amount while Rwanda
and Tanzania have remitted only 23.8 per and 6.6 per cent respectively.
It is also expected that the EAC presidents will launch the harmonised EAC higher education system that will allow students to transfer credits to higher education institutions in five partner states.
The other matters for consideration by the Heads of State are
the signing into law of the EAC, the one-stop border posts and the
vehicle axle-load control Acts, progress on the mediation of peace talks
in Burundi and South Sudan.
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