Members of the East African Legislative Assembly – EALA are calling for alternative sources of funding for the community.
The EAC budget is mainly funded through member states’ contributions and development partners’ support.
However, a recent report by the Audit Commission indicated that the bloc continues to grapple with various challenges blamed on poor funding due to delayed or non-remittance of funds by partner states.
South Sudan remains the biggest defaulter of remittances to the community, with arrears of $22 million, followed by Burundi at $5 million in arrears.
Speaking to KFM, Uganda’s EALA representative, James Kakooza acknowledges the fact that the two countries are resource-constrained due to the years of conflict they have endured.
He however underscores the need to rethink the contribution method and instead focus on percentage sharing that is proportionate with country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
