The East African Community (EAC) is set to allocate a budget of over $100 million for the 2023/24 fiscal year, representing a 13% increase compared to the current financial year's budget of $91.5 million.

The budget estimates were presented to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on Tuesday, June 13 in Arusha, Tanzania.

Members of EALA acknowledged the modest increase as a positive step towards regional integration, but expressed the need for further funding to achieve integration goals.

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During the budget presentation, Ezéchiel Nibigira, Chairperson of the Council of Ministers and Burundi&039;s Minister for EAC Affairs revealed that approximately $59 million (57%) of the proposed budget will come from EAC partner states or other internal revenues. The remaining $44.8 million (43%) will be sourced from Development Partners.

The 2023/2024 budget focuses on "Accelerating Economic Recovery, Climate Change Mitigation, and Enhancing Productive Sectors for Improved Livelihoods."

Key priorities for the budget include strengthening regional governance processes, aligning trade-related policies, enhancing customs and trade facilitation systems, harmonizing fiscal and monetary policies, leveraging modern technologies, and strengthening the capacity of EAC organs and institutions.

Nibigira emphasized that achieving these priority areas would result in improved peace and security, leading to an EAC Political Confederation.

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EALA MPs argued that the EAC needs a higher budget allocation to meet its integration targets. EALA representative Fatuma Ndangiza from Rwanda said that while the budget increase was partly due to the admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the EAC, the absolute rise was not significant. She emphasized the need for increased funding to address the EAC's expanding priorities, such as establishing a monetary union, infrastructure development, peace-building, and good governance.

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Ndangiza and EALA MP Abdullah Hasnuu Makame from Tanzania raised concerns about EAC member states not remitting contributions on time, which hampers budget execution. They called on all member states to honor their financial commitments to avoid delays in achieving the regional integration agenda.

Economic performance, outlook

Meanwhile, Nibigira highlighted that the budget estimates were presented against the backdrop of global shocks caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, tight global financial conditions, the lingering effects of Covid-19, and climate change impacts.

Despite these challenges, the EAC economies are expected to experience positive growth due to the strong performance of the services sector, effective government policies, and increased public and private investments.

In 2022, the region's economic growth improved to 4.8% from 3.5% in 2021, driven by robust performance in industries such as services, construction, mining, and manufacturing.