EAC travel expenditures decline significantly
East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 26 April 2017:
The East African Community Secretariat significantly reduced traveling expenses over the 10-months period running from May 2016 – February 2017 compared to a similar period from May 2015 – February 2016.
EAC Travel expenditures fell to US$ 9.1 million in the period ending February 2017 compared to US$ 12.5 million the previous financial year, a drop of US$ 3.4 million.
EAC travel expenditure includes air tickets for EAC Staff, air tickets for Partner States’ delegates and other participants at EAC meetings, and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) for EAC Staff, Partner States delegates and other participants in EAC meetings.
Making the disclosure, EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko said that some of the most significant cost reductions were in expenditure on air tickets which dropped by US$ 456,491 and air tickets for Partner States’ delegates and other participants to EAC meetings which declined by US$ 408,273.
The Secretary General said that DSA for EAC Staff from also plunged from US$ 4.5 to million to US$ 3.2 million over the same period, a difference of US$ 1.36 million.
Expenditure on DSA for Delegates to EAC meetings went down from US$ 4.4 million to US$ 3.5 million, a drop of US$ 1.05 million.
Also worth noting is that the EAC overall Travel budget has declined significantly over the past three financial years. The Community’s travel budget was US$ 28.1 million in the 2014/2015 Financial Year; US$ 28.0 million in the 2015/2016 Financial Year, and; declined significantly to US$ 21 million in the 2016/2017 Financial Year.
The Secretariat has since April 2016 been undergoing administrative and institutional reforms aimed at cutting down on costs and reducing wastage in its expenditure.
The ongoing reforms have helped the Community to adapt to the reduction of its travel budget and to the overall financial constraints it has been facing.
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For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.