It’s a quarter at a time for cash-strapped EAC secretariat

Arusha. The East African Community (EAC) will withdraw money for its expenditure for only the first quarter of the 2020/21 financial year.

The Vote-on-Account will be invoked on the cash-strapped organisation’s financial procedures as it awaits a full budget by October or thereabout.

Sources said $29.4 million has been approved for expenditure of the EAC organs and institutions for July to September 2020 period.

The Vote-on-Account approved will be for the first quarter of the 2020/2021 financial year, a source familiar with the EAC budgets said.

The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has deliberated on the stalled EAC budget through virtual sittings since last week.

It deliberated on the 2019/2020 budget estimates, the supplementary budget for the same fiscal year and the stalled 2020/2021 budget.

After a short debate, the Speaker directed the Vote-on-Account to the Committee of General Purpose for scrutiny for two days.

“The debate on the subject matter will commence on Monday,” an official of Eala told The Citizen at the weekend.

Today’s sitting will seek an interim permission to withdraw the money for the expenditure to get the EAC moving ahead of the full budget.

The official hinted the Vote-on-Account option was taken because procedures that normally precede the approval and passing of the EAC took time.

“It may take up to a month from now for the full budget to be tabled, debated and passed yet the EAC has to move,” he told The Citizen.

A Vote-on-Account is a special provision to obtain the vote of Parliament to withdraw the money when the budget for the new financial year has not been released.

The Vote-on-Account is normally valid for only two to three months while the full budget lasts for a period of twelve months.

The provision was proposed by the EAC Council of Ministers to support the operations of the Community, pending tabling and approval of its main budget.

It was initially turned down by Eala members in June who demanded the tabling of the full $97.6 million EAC budget for 2020/2021.

The EAC has proposed to spend $97.6 million during 2020/2021 according to the budget estimates approved by the ministers on August 3. Of the total amount, $55.6 million will be contributed by the six partner states while development partners will raise some $41.9 million for the kitty.

This is the first time in the history of the EAC budget passing has been delayed so long, an indication of serious challenges it is facing.