EAC Meeting of Finance and Administration Committee Concludes in Arusha
In line with the EAC Calendar of Activities, the Finance and Administration Committee meeting was held from 10th to 13th January 2017 at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The purpose of the meeting was to consider finance, administrative, and human resources matters of the Community.
The Finance and Administration Committee is the technical arm of the EAC Policy Organ, the Council of Ministers. It is charged with scrutinizing all the finance, administrative, and human resource matters to be considered by the Council of Ministers. It is composed of finance, administrative and human resource experts from the Partner States.
The 4-day meeting was attended by experts from all Partner States, EAC Organs and Institutions. The Republic of South Sudan (RSS) attended the EAC meeting for the first time as a full member. The new Partner State sent a five-man delegation led by Hon. Mou Mou Athian Kuol, the Secretary General of South Sudan EAC Secretariat based in Juba.
The Republic of South Sudan became a full member of the East African Community having deposited the instruments for ratification with the Secretary General in September 2016. The Secretariat is working on a detailed roadmap to integrate the new Partner State in the EAC projects and programmes and participation of the South Sudanese delegates in the meeting is part of the process.
Speaking during the meeting, Hon. Mou Mou Athian Kuol hailed the conducive atmosphere in which the EAC meetings were being conducted. He noted that RSS has committed itself to the collective responsibility and commitments toward the East African integration, which it considers as a platform to establish itself in the community of progressive nation in the world.
Hon. Mou Mou assured the meeting that RSS was fully seized on the restoration of peace and tranquility in the country following the disturbances of July, 2016 and was accelerating its action to get back on track in various Protocols to restore peace in the country.
The Finance and Administration Committee meeting made several finance, administrative, and human resource recommendations to the Coordination Committee (Permanent/Principal Secretaries), who will, in turn recommend to the Council for adopting/or further guidance.
The meeting noted that the delay in disbursement of Partner States contributions has caused liquidity challenges to the EAC Organs and Institutions, and recommended to the Coordination Committee to recommend to Council to direct the Partner States to disburse the contributions due for financial year 2016/17 by end of March 2017, to enable the EAC Organs and Institutions discharge their mandate.