EAC increases budget for 2009/2010 fiscal year

DAR ES SALAAM, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The East African Community (EAC) has
increased its annual budget by 34 percent for the 2009/2010 fiscal year with a
total budgeted amount of 54.25 million U.S. dollars.

Of the budgeted total, 50.6 percent is meant for development expenditure
while the rest is meant for recurrent and emolument expenditures, according to
Monique Makaruliza, secretary of the EAC Council of Ministers.

The secretary also unveiled that 51.5 percent of the budget would be
contributed by the five EAC member states of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania
and Uganda while the rest would be contributed by development partners.

The 2009/2010 budget will focus on such issues as consolidating the
community's customs union, finalizing the negotiations of the community's
envisaged common market protocol and promoting intra-community trade and
investment.

The five countries combine to cover 1.9 million square kilometers, to have
120 million people and to enjoy a gross domestic product of 47 billion U.S.
dollars.

Though budgeted with 23.41 million dollars for the 2008/2009 fiscal year,
the regional integration bloc of five countries is expected to spend to the tune
of 40.49 million dollars for that budgeted period.

Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are each budgeted to contribute 5.6
million dollars toward the community's 2008/2009 budget while Burundi is
budgeted to contribute 1 million dollars.