New EAC Secretary General tackles Financial Woes of the Community
The new Secretary General of the East African Community, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Liberat Mfumukeko, took on the mantle of the Community on 26th April 2015 upon the expiry of the successful contract for Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera on 25th April 2016. The new Secretary General hails from Burundi while his predecessor is from Rwanda.
Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko takes the reins when the Community is faced with a number of challenges, the political situation in Burundi and the funding of the Secretariat being just a few of them. The Secretary General has set pace by meeting the EAC staff in their various categories. On 16th May, 2016 he met the Heads of EAC Organs and Institutions in Arusha, Tanzania during which meeting he exchanged ideas with the executives. He underscored the point that his aim was not to prove or make his predecessors to appear as though they never achieved anything, rather, he is bent on getting the best practices implemented for the good of the Community. Key among the outcome of the meeting was the need to revisit income and expenditure practices.
As of now, only 65% of earmarked contributions for the FY 2015/2016 budget have been received from Partner States. A meeting with the EAC development partners is scheduled on 26th May 2016 in Dar es Salaam in order to brainstorm on the best funding mechanism for the Community.