Development partners will contribute $46.1 million toward the East African Community’s 2026/27 budget, underscoring the bloc’s continued dependence on external financing even as member states remain its largest source of funding.
The East African Community (EAC) has tabled a budget of approximately $110.9 million for the 2026/27 financial year, with development partners expected to finance more than 40 percent of the bloc’s spending, highlighting the regional body’s continued reliance on external funding despite longstanding ambitions for greater financial self-sufficiency.
The proposed budget, tabled before the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) by the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, Rebecca Kadaga, allocates $110,863,576 to fund the operations and programmes of the Community’s institutions during the financial year beginning July 1.
According to budget documents presented to lawmakers, Partner States will contribute about $62.77 million while development partners are expected to provide approximately $46.10 million. The remainder will come from institutional reserves and other income streams.
The financing structure means donor funding accounts for roughly four out of every ten dollars in the Community’s budget, underscoring the continued role of international partners in sustaining regional integration programmes.
“The proposed EAC FY2026/2027 Budget reflects a strong commitment to sustaining the operations and programmes of the Community’s Organs and Institutions,” the Council of Ministers said in budget documents submitted to the Assembly.
The budget was received during a virtual sitting of EALA and referred to the Assembly’s General Purpose Committee for detailed scrutiny before final deliberations by the House ahead of the June 30 deadline.
Secretariat Receives More Than Half of Budget
Budget allocations show the EAC Secretariat remains the dominant spending centre within the regional bloc, receiving nearly $59.7 million — more than half of the entire budget.
The East African Legislative Assembly has been allocated $19.2 million, making it the second-largest recipient of funds.
Other allocations include:
- EAC Secretariat — $59.7 million
- East African Legislative Assembly — $19.2 million
- Inter-University Council for East Africa — $9.3 million
- Lake Victoria Basin Commission — $7.0 million
- East African Court of Justice — $5.0 million
- East African Science and Technology Commission — $2.7 million
- East Africa Health Research Commission — $2.3 million
- Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization — $2.2 million
- East Africa Kiswahili Commission — $1.6 million
The distribution reflects the Community’s focus on maintaining core institutional operations while funding programmes in education, health, environmental management, science, technology and regional integration.
Additional $4.8 Million Approved
In addition to the main budget, the Council of Ministers approved a supplementary budget of $4.79 million for the current 2025/26 financial year.
The supplementary allocation comes on top of an already approved budget of about $109.05 million for FY2025/26 and is intended to address financing gaps and emerging priorities that could not be postponed.
The EAC Secretariat will receive the largest share of the supplementary funding at approximately $2.31 million.
According to the budget documents, the supplementary resources will largely come from development partner grants, institutional reserves and special contributions.
Health, Climate and Food Security Prioritized
The additional funding will support a range of programmes identified as urgent regional priorities.
These include initiatives aimed at strengthening pandemic preparedness, advancing sexual and reproductive health programmes, improving governance and peace-building capacity, and upgrading information and communications technology infrastructure across EAC institutions.
The budget also earmarks resources for climate resilience projects in the Lake Victoria Basin, fisheries management programmes, food security initiatives and innovation programmes targeting women and young people.
The priorities come as East African countries continue to confront climate-related disasters, public health challenges and growing demands for employment opportunities among the region’s youthful population.
Questions Over Financial Independence
The latest budget once again places renewed attention on the EAC’s long-running challenge of achieving sustainable financing from its member states.
While Partner States remain the largest contributors collectively, donor support continues to account for a substantial share of the Community’s finances.
The EAC has for years discussed strategies aimed at reducing dependence on external partners and increasing internally generated resources. However, the new budget demonstrates that development partners remain critical financiers of many regional programmes.
The funding mix highlights a dual reality facing the bloc: growing regional ownership through member-state contributions, while continued donor support remains necessary to sustain development, health, environmental and governance initiatives.
The House adjourned to allow the General Purpose Committee to scrutinize the proposed budget and report back before lawmakers undertake final deliberations ahead of the new financial year.
