The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Arusha, Tanzania THE INDEPENDENT | The East African Community (EAC) has tabled the regional Parliament the budget estimates for the 2025/2026 Financial Year, totalling 109.34 Million Dollars.
The budget tabled before the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is lower than the previous one, which totalled 113 Million Dollars.
The Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for EAC Affairs, Beatrice Askul Moe, said that the budget estimates were being presented at a time when the EAC economies had demonstrated resilience despite ongoing global challenges, including geopolitical tensions, climate change, and shifts in international aid.
“Despite these challenges, the average economic growth rate for the region was 5.5 percent in 2024, which outpaced both the global average of 3.3 percent and the Sub-Saharan Africa growth rate of 4percent,” said Moe.
“The outlook for 2025 is even brighter, with a projected growth rate of 5.8 percent, driven by robust performance in agriculture, construction, and services sectors, supported by sound policies and macroeconomic stability,” added the Minister. Moe disclosed that the EAC’s total trade with the rest of the world increased by 14.7 percent to 124.9 Billion Dollars in 2024 from 109.4 billion in 2023.
“In 2024, EAC exports grew by 24.72 percent to USD 56 billion, while EAC imports rose by 6.83 percent to 68.9 Billion Dollars. During the same time, Intra-EAC trade also expanded by 9.35 percent to 15.2 billion,” said the Minister.
The 2025/2026 Budget is themed “Inclusive Economic Transformation through Domestic Resource Mobilisation and Resilient Strategic Investment for Job Creation and Improved Livelihoods.”
On priorities for the next financial year, Moe said that the Community would focus on six priority areas, including enhancing regional peace, security, political processes, and emergency response mechanisms to improve the political environment in the Community.
Others will be advancing the EAC Customs Union to increase regional trade and optimise supply chains across Partner States, and strengthening the implementation of regional commitments in accordance with the EAC Common Market Protocol and other relevant frameworks to ensure sustainable development and improve the socioeconomic welfare of East Africans.
The EAC also intends to focus on expediting the harmonisation of fiscal and monetary policies and operationalisation of requisite institutions towards realising the East African Monetary Union, as well as enhancing multi-modal strategic, climate-resilient infrastructure, and digitalisation to promote trade and regional integration.
It also plans to strengthen the capabilities of all EAC Organs and Institutions to fulfil their mandates and promote the visibility of the Community and stakeholder engagement in the EAC integration process.
The EAC Secretariat has been allocated 55.21 million, the East African Court of Justice, 5.056 million and EALA 20,5 Million Dollars.
The Lake Victoria Basin Commission is given 7.6 Million Dollars, while the Inter-University Council for East Africa got 10.8 million and the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation 2.45 million.
Some 2.21 Million Dollars is allocated to the East African Science and Technology Commission, 1.64 million to the East African Kiswahili Commission and 2.354 million to the East African Health Research Commission, while the East African Competition Authority was given 1.525 million.
On the EAC Single Customs Territory, the Minister said that enhancement and interconnectivity of Customs Systems is at the forefront to facilitate seamless exchange of trade information and faster clearance of goods across borders.
“The enhanced Centralised Information Sharing Platform now supports the digital exchange of electronic Certificates of Origin across Partner States, streamlining cross-border trade, reducing errors, and strengthening regional integration.”
He said in 2025/2026 the EAC will, among other things, focus on further consolidating the Customs Union by implementing a comprehensive blueprint aimed at deepening integration, harmonising legal frameworks, and improving trade facilitation.
It prioritises practical outcomes such as faster clearance of goods, enhanced compliance, reduced trade costs through coordinated reforms and capacity support.
Some of the achievements in 2024/2025 FY were the resolution of 16 out of 47 Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) that were reported, with the remaining 31 being at different stages of resolution.
She pledged the Community’s commitment to eliminating the barriers to unlock the full potential of regional trade.
To inspire excellence, quality management and product excellence among EAC enterprises, the Community awarded 12 enterprises from various sectors across the Partner States with the 2024 EAC Quality Award.
On the Common Market, Moe said that the Community had continued to monitor or progress of Partner States in revising national laws to comply with the EAC Common Market Protocol.
“I am pleased to report that the Republic of Burundi, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Uganda have waived work/residence permit fees for all EAC Citizens, marking a significant step towards labour mobility in the region.
”The Minister stated that in the year 2025/2026, the Community will continue to undertake regulatory reforms in compliance with Common Market Protocol commitments.
Regarding the Monetary Union, the Minister informed the Assembly that during the implementation of the Roadmap for the East African Monetary Union (EAMU), the Community adopted a comprehensive framework for coordinating monetary and fiscal policies to support the establishment of the Monetary Union.
Further, to modernise and integrate payment systems across the region, the Community adopted the EAC Cross-Border Payment System Master Plan, which outlines key strategic initiatives for modernising and integrating payment systems in the EAC region.
“The Community has also continued to support the Partner States’ Central Banks in implementing secure, efficient and reliable payment and settlement systems to ensure the efficient flow of transactions within the EAC region through the EAC Payment and Settlement System Integration Project (EAC-PSSIP),” said the Minister.
Over the year, the EAC assembly’s achievements included the granting of leave to introduce three Private Members’ Bills, namely: the East African Community Prevention and Control of Transboundary Animal and Zoonotic Disease Bill, 2024; the East African Community Medical Products Bill, 2024; and the East African Community Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation Bill, 2025.
Others were the adoption of a number of recommendations aimed at improving the overall performance of the Community in the implementation of the integration agenda.
“During its rotational sitting in the Republic of Uganda, the Assembly received the President, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who called for political integration as a means to strengthen the bloc, emphasising principles of patriotism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy,” said the Minister.
She said that in the year 2025/2026, the Assembly would prioritise the enactment of legislation geared towards furthering and deepening the EAC integration process and three Bills, returned to the Assembly, that are a prerequisite for the establishment of the East African Monetary Union.
On the East African Court of Justice, the Minister disclosed that the Court had continued to witness goodwill by the Partner States in implementing the Court’s decisions, which builds confidence among East Africans with regard to respect for the rule of law and justice delivery in the region.
A total of 79 matters were filed before the East African Court of Justice. Minister Moe said that the Court had seen a considerable increase in its case backlog, from 265 matters in 2022/2023 to 328 matters in 2024/2025.
The Court’s priority, she said, will be to reduce the case backlog; enhance the skills of Judges and staff for efficient delivery of justice; and enhance collaboration with other regional and international Courts.
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