KAMPALA - There is a shortfall in the 2008/09 East African Community (EAC) Budget. The short fall might cause a delay in the funding of crucial projects in the five member states, according to the Chairperson of the East African Council of Ministers.

Eriya Kategaya, who is also Uganda’s Minister in charge of EAC affairs said the proposed budget did not align with the EAC development strategy.

"The budget is to small and we don’t have enough funds as yet to cater for the regional development programmes,” Kategaya said in an interview with The New Times on Thursday.

He explained that the budget is recurrent. This means it only caters for the costs of running the EAC Secretariat activities and mobilisation of programmes.

"To think that $30 million can develop the whole region is a joke. Perhaps in the future when we have a political federation,” Kategaya said.

The budget was presented to the East African Legislative Assembly on May 15th at the 6th sitting in Nairobi but members of the EAC Assembly have delayed passing it.

The legislatures reasoned that the budget did not align with the third development strategy of the community.

According to Kategaya the parliamentarians were not involved in the drafting of the budget. Therefore the decision of the assembly was not represented, and thus rejecting it.

He however said that gaps have been identified, funds relocated to some crucial areas but the overall budget will not change.

The revised EAC Budget may be released between 17 -18 June. According to the draft, the $279,127 needed for the Customs Union roll out in Rwanda and Burundi had not been allocated.

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