New Eala Speaker renews call for financial autonomy

Arusha. Newly elected Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) Joseph Ntakirutimana has renewed a call for financial autonomy of the organ.

He said financial and administrative autonomy should go alongside increased budget for the august House.

Speaking at the just-concluded induction for the new legislators, Mr Ntakirutimana said such autonomy should not be further delayed to enable the key East African Community (EAC) institution to discharge its duties. 

“Full implementation of the administration of Eala Act requires full implementation of financial and administrative autonomy,” he noted when he was closing the 5th Assembly induction programme for the legislators last Wednesday. He also called for increased budget allocation to the EAC as a whole to enable the secretariat finance the activities of the Assembly such as comittee meetings and plenary sessions.

Mr Ntakirutimana, a lawmaker from Burundi was in December elected the new Speaker of the Assembly to replace Martin Ngoga from Rwanda. 

He became the 6th Speaker of EAC legislative organ.

He also reiterated the full adoption by the EAC Council of Ministers of French and Kiswahili as languages of the community.

The five-day induction of the 5th Assembly was organised by Eala to acquaint them with the Assembly and the broader EAC operations.

Among these are the EAC Treaty, the supreme law of the community, and the key pillars of integration: the Customs Union, Common Market, Monetary Union and Political Federation.

The achievements made, the persisting challenges, and the future prospects of the seven-nation bloc were discussed. During the induction, there were calls for the amendment of the EAC Treaty in the wake of the expansion of member states.

The amendment, it was argued, should reflect the tremendous growth that has taken place in the community ever since its revival in the 1990s.

For the Assembly, the proposed review of the Community Mother Law (the Treaty) should be geared towards improving its decision-making process.

Besides Eala, another EAC organ that is seeking administrative and financial autonomy is the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).

The court officials insist the desired arrangement would enable the organ power to oversee the administration of its own funds.

Currently, the EAC secretariat, the executive arm of the community, manages the expenditure budget of the organisation’s organs and institutions.

Eala and EACJ have repeatedly sought financial autonomy, insisting they were not getting development funds (mainly from donors), unlike the secretariat.

After receiving funds from the partner states and the development partners, the Secretariat disburses them to Eala, EACJ and nearly a dozen institutions.

The arrangement has been criticised as being counter-productive in that it slowed down the swift implementation of crucial projects.

When he was sworn in as the fifth Eala Speaker in December last year, the soft-spoken Burundi legislator said he would reach out to the partner states on the matter.