Emphasis on integration as EAC’s budget is tabled
Shem Bageine (third from right), Chair of the Council of Ministers walks into the House to present the Budget Speech. He is accompanied by (left to right) Jean Claude Nsengiyumva, Deputy Secretary General, EAC, Dr Abdallah Sadala Abdallah, Tanzania Deputy Minister, EAC Co-operation, Leontine Nzeyimana, Minister for EAC, Burundi. On the Minister’s right is Ms Monique Mukaruliza, Minister for EAC, Rwanda. PHOTO | COURTESY OF EAC
What you need to know:
- On implementation of the Common Market Protocol, the emphasis will be on operationalisation of the free movement of labour provisions, as well as the integration of the regional financial markets to allow for free movement of capital
Dar es Salaam. The East African Legislative Assembly last week received a $130 million budget in its ongoing session in Kampala. The budget was tabled by the Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers and Minister of State for East African Affairs, Uganda, Mr Shem Bageine.
The Budget estimates for the Financial Year 2013/14 totalling $130,429,394 are down by about $10 million from $140million budget which was endorsed in the previous Financial Year.
One of the key prority areas for the next financial year regional budget is strengthening integration. According to Mr Bageine, co-operation in political affairs will be taken further by conducting national consultations on the model of the structure of the EAC Political Federation.
According to him, the consultations process is expected to be held in the coming months with a report on the progress made at the 15th Summit of EAC Heads of State in November 2013.
Though the budget amount has gone down, the presented plan prioritises consolidating the Common Market; completion of negotiations and movement towards the East African Monetary Union Protocol; investment promotion and private sector development; co-operation in cross-border infrastructure; enhancing the extractive and processing industries; implementation of the critical activities of EAC Food Security and the mainstreaming of policies, programmes and projects related to gender.
Tabling the budget, Mr Bageine highlighted a number of achievements registered in the financial year 2012/13. Among the achievements, he listed successful finalisation and adoption of the requisite customs legal and operational requirements coming into play of customs transit information (RADDEx 2) as one of the accomplishments as well as passing of key legislation strengthening integration.
Other areas of achievements, the minister noted, included the completion and commissioning of the rehabilitated Arusha-Namanga-Athi River road, the relocation of the EAC into the new headquarters and enhanced sensitisation and outreach programmes.
On energy, the Chair of the Council of Ministers affirmed the region’s commitment towards ensuring sustained and efficient energy use.
In this regard, Mr Bageine informed the House that the EAC had signed an MoU with the UN International Renewable Energy Agency to realise the objective and that work was in progress. The EAC, he added, had further promoted the region as an emerging destination in oil and gas exploration, development and production.
On the Common Market, the minister enumerated the achievements and gains realised. “The most significant development during the period under review is that the Republic of Rwanda enacted a new immigration law which encompasses all provisions of the Common Market Protocol with regard to the free movement of persons and labour,” he said.
He further noted that Kenya has also repealed a number of laws, mainly those which were inhibiting free movement of persons. These laws inslude Immigration Act (Cap 172), Alien Restriction Act (Cap 173) and Visa Regulations.
Kenya replaced these old laws with Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act No. 12 of 2011 and Kenya Citizens and Foreign Nationals Management Act No.31 of 2011.
For its part, Uganda too enacted a new law on insolvency in 2011 that conforms to the Common Market Protocol.
The minister stated that the region had maintained real GDP at 5.5 per cent against a harsh economic environment. The minister however reported of a significant drop in inflation from 20.1 per cent to 8.5 per cent aided by monetary policy tightening and lower food prices associated with a recovery in local food production.
“Global prospects for 2013 have improved but the road to recovery in the advanced economies will remain a bumpy one. The Sub-Saharan Africa region’s economic growth is projected to remain constant at 5.3 per cent in 2013. In the EAC, however, economic growth is projected to expand by 6.1 per cent,” Mr Bageine stated.
“The generally strong performance is to a significant extent expected to accrue from ongoing investment in infrastructure and productive capacity and continuing robust domestic consumption in the region.
Consumer prices are projected to ease from 8.5 in 2012 to 7.4 per cent in 2013 while the current account deficit as percentage of GDP is expected to improve marginally to about 10.6 per cent,” he added.
Presenting the Budget estimates, the Council Chairperson noted that among the identified priority areas, were the interventions in the Customs Union leading to establishment of a single customs territory.
He observed that the single customs territory “will crystallise the gains of integration characterised by minimal internal border controls and a more efficient institutional mechanism in clearing goods”.
On implementation of the Common Market Protocol, the emphasis will be on operationalisation of the free movement of labour provisions, as well as the integration of the regional financial markets to allow for free movement of capital.
