Under attack from member states over being scandal-ridden, the East African Community Secretariat has now run broke.
All is not well in Arusha as the Secretariat is being forced to have to borrow $3.38 million from its General Reserve Fund to pay salaries and suppliers after member states delayed remitting their share of the budget, Kenyan media reported on Monday.
The sectoral Council of Ministers responsible for EAC Affairs and planning, in their meeting held from August 21 to 25 in Arusha, directed the Secretariat to present to the Finance and Administration Committee the request for funds for approval, The East African said.
The money will be refunded immediately the remittances are effected by the partner states.
The Council’s report says that a number of EAC institutions and organs are unable to meet their financial obligations due to the delays in remittance by the partner states.
According to the provisions of the EAC Treaty, the budget of the community is supposed to be contributed equally by all the partner states.
From the 2016/17 budget, five member countries owe $12.93 million of the $41.8 million they were supposed contribute. Donors were to raise $46.7 million.
Only Kenya has paid up. Uganda has arrears of $73,830, Rwanda $540, Tanzania $4,836 while Burundi and South Sudan have paid nothing.
Last year, EALA warned Burundi that it could be sent before the regional court for failure to pay anything towards the EAC budget.
The total budget for the 2017/2018 total budget is $113.8 million up from $101 million for the financial year 016/2017.
A total of $1.3 million (3 per cent) has been remitted by two partner states. Uganda has contributed $1.36 million and Kenya, $20,476.
Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan are yet to submit any of their contributions to the budget.
