ARUSHA, Tanzania – Development partners are to fund more than half of the 2015/2016 East African Community Secretariat budget.

The Tanzania Deputy Minister for East African Affairs Dr. Abdallah Sadaala Abdallah, who is also the Chair of the Council of Ministers was presenting the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat budget last week.

Sadaala said, “Member states will contribute ($47,566,973) compared to $46, 958,273 of the current year and Development Partners support will inject ($58,555,635) which is a significant drop from the $75,121,126 of the previous year. Other sources of revenue shall account for $4,537, 490.”

Assessing the Community performance in the financial year 2014/2015, Dr. Abdallah said the EAC achieved various achievements in the financial year ending 2014/2015. These include the commencement of the clearance of goods under the Single Customs Territory on the Central Corridor as well as rollout of more products on the corresponding Northern Corridor.

He remarked that the EAC worked hard to see that there is an Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers Bill (NTB) and this has been achieved following the passing of the Bill in 2015 he said the Elimination of NTB, coupled with legally binding mechanism for elimination of NTBs, would spur business and enhance the free movement of goods and services in the Five country’s Economic block.

The Minister said in the financial year 2014/2015 EAC adopted the legal and regulatory framework of the EAC Securities Market that includes public offers for equity securities and fixed securities and regional listings in the securities market. According to him this will help both public and private companies to raise more capitals as results of selling share on the East African Community Stock market.

On the Common Market, the Chair of Council remarked that the EAC Common Market Scorecard 2014 launched in February 2014 was a key tool in the implementation of the Protocol.

“The Scorecard should be able to assist Partner States to identify areas of slow or limited progress and foster stronger peer learning to accelerate its implementation” the Minister said.

He remarked that the financial period had also witnessed the ratification of the East African Monetary Union Protocol which was signed in November 2013. The Minister noted that construction of the One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) at the common borders was on-going with a completion rate of over 80% in majority of the border posts.

Apart from developing strategies that eliminates NTB in the financial 2014/2015 the community also registered some achievements in the development of regional infrastructures.

Under Infrastructure development, the Minister noted the on-going works especially on the Northern Corridor. He said the Arusha-Holili/Taveta-Voi road project and the second multinational road projects in the region had commenced.

He explained that the Arusha—Holili/Ta veta road will serve two countries he said “one section will cover the United Republic of Tanzania comprises of a by-pass and the dual passage way of the Sakina-Tengeru road while on the Kenyan side, the 90 kilometre long Taveta-Mwatate road awaits an upgrade from gravel to bitumen”.

On water Transport the Chair of the Council of Ministers stated that a baseline study on Maritime transport and subsectors was completed in December 2014 and added that a proposal for financing development of the Maritime search and rescue exercises framework had been developed.

The Minister also assured the House that the EAC corridor Initiatives were on course.

“Mr. Speaker, in July 2014, the EAC Secretariat signed a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement with the East African Corridors Agencies namely; the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency, the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority; and the LAPSSET Corridor Agency. The Agreement aims at fostering co-operation and collaboration between the parties in activities aimed at promoting integrated, efficient and cost effective transport systems in the EAC region and beyond. Pursuant to this Agreement, several consultative meetings have been held between the parties,” he said.

On industrialization and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMEs) sub-sector, the Minister was categorical that both areas are critical in enhancing development in the region. He further noted that the region had finalized the review of legal and regulatory frameworks for mineral value addition in the region.

The Chair of the Council said that steady progress had been made towards enacting an EAC Bill on Industrialization.

The Bill aims to empower the Community to take actions for the development of industries and to coordinate the pattern and direction of industrial development and regulate investments to achieve industrial development targets. It further aims to govern the operations of strategic regional industries including addressing issues such as competition, counterfeiting, industrial financing, technology transfer, Public Private Partnership (PPP) in industrial investments, taxation, tariff structures,

On tourism, the Minister noted that EAC continued to promote itself as a single tourism destination in line with the objectives of the Common Market Protocol.

The Minister termed some of the successes in the health sector in 2014/15 as the finalization of the EAC Health Sector Strategic Plan 2012-2020 and the operationalization of the East African Health Research Commission.

However the Minister said there’s need to harmonize of policies revolving on health professionals and streamlining of the laws and regulations of the sector in line with the Common Market Protocol.

On the Political Federation, the Minister informed the House that the Council of Ministers had established a Sub-Committee to consider the roadmap for the constitutional making process and to determine the model structure for the Political Federation. He said this would be considered at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers.

He however said that success of the integration process was tantamount to a predictable security environment including combating security.

“Terrorism remains an omnipresent threat to the enjoyment of these freedoms and rights. Whereas security agents will remain vigilant and fulfill their mandate through the platforms availed within the integration realm, focus within the coming year; will be on greater engagement of trans-boundary communities in border security management,” Dr. Abdallah said.

Source: East African Business Week

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