EAC POISED TO PASS 2026/27 BUDGET
BY DAVID CHIKOKO
The East African Community (EAC) has proposed dollars 110.86 million budget for the 2026/27 financial year, placing regional security, trade growth, domestic revenue mobilisation and digital transformation at the centre of the bloc’s next phase of integration.
EAC Secretary General (SG), Amb Stephen Patrick Mbundi, presented the Budget Policy Statement before the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA)’s General-Purpose Committee in Arusha early this week, as lawmakers continued to scrutinise the Community’s revenue and expenditure estimates for the coming financial year.
The proposed budget was expected to be financed mainly by Partner States, which are projected to contribute dollars 64.77 million, representing 58 per cent of the total. Development Partners are expected to provide USD 46.10 million or 42 per cent of the budget.
The new budget is slightly higher than 2025/206, which was dollars 109,338,151.
The estimates cover the work of EAC organs and institutions with the largest share earmarked for the EAC Secretariat, which coordinates the implementation of the Community’s programmes and projects. EALA has also been allocated funds to support its legislative, oversight and representative functions.
The budget was earlier tabled before EALA by the Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, before being referred to the General-Purpose Committee for detailed scrutiny and recommendations.
A supplementary budget of USD 4.79 million for the 2025/26 financial year was also placed before the Assembly intended to address urgent requirements across EAC organs, including support for health, environmental and ICT-related programmes.
Regional trade is expected to remain one of the major areas of focus in the new financial year as the Community seeks to build on recent growth in intra-EAC trade and deepen the movement of goods, services and people across the region.
The budget also comes at a time when the EAC is seeking to reduce pressure on its programmes by strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation and improving predictability in the financing of Community activities. Partner State contributions remain central to the implementation of the bloc’s approved programmes.
For Amb Mbundi, the 2026/27 estimates represent one of the first major budget processes under his new leadership at the Secretariat, which he assumed last April. His presentation before the General-Purpose Committee offered lawmakers an opportunity to engage directly with the Secretariat on the policy direction, funding assumptions and strategic priorities behind the proposed estimates.
As we went to press, the budget process had reached its final legislative stage with the Assembly expected to conclude consideration before the close of the sitting.
