MAGUFULI: EAC IS WASTEFUL. AFRICA REVIEW | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Wednesday, March 2nd 2016 at 20:19 Tanzanian President John Magufuli Wednesday castigated the East African Community (EAC) institutions for their extravagance. President Magufuli, who chaired the 17th EAC Heads of State Summit session in Arusha, northern Tanzania, called for the cutting down of unnecessary expenditures. "Why shouldn't the EAC start thinking of cutting down costs which are not necessary?" he asked as he appeared concerned by the quality of the meeting hall where air conditioners appeared not to work properly. President Magufuli said EAC was there to serve the ordinary and poor people and that it should not be turned into a 'cash cow' by few people who did not wish the Community well. Rampant expenditure The head of state said reports of rampant expenditure of tax payers' money had been rife for a long time. "EAC should put its house in order," President Magufuli said, indicating he was ready to extend his anti-graft war into the regional organisation because corruption and misuse of public funds were the enemies of all East Africans. He hinted that the cost of hosting the summit at the private lodge outside Arusha could be unnecessarily high compared to other conference facilities in town, specifically the government-owned Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC). Traditional venue For instance, the cost of hosting every delegate at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge, the traditional venue for EAC summits and other major conferences, was $45 per head which, he said, could be much lower if the venue was in Arusha town. The remarks have come only three months after an Audit Account Report of the EAC for the year ending June 2014 revealed serious mismanagement of funds. The report was tabled before the East African Assembly (Eala) plenary session in Kigali, Rwanda and in one case, a whooping $5.1 million was found to have been used on air tickets which, according to the report, were not properly procured. Trade relations Queries were also raised for the $3.4m air travel expenditure for the year ending June 2013. President Magufuli hastened to say that he would ensure there was a reduction of expenditure at the regional body. Yoweri Museveni of Uganda said the EAC should not only enhance their economic and trade relations, but should also enable the region to be competitive in the global trade and investment flows. The onslaught He said although it would take years if not decades for the region to compete effectively with major economic powers such as China and the US, they could still cooperate in order to survive the onslaught of the mega multi-nationals. Paul Kagame of Rwanda welcomed the admission of South Sudan into the bloc, saying his country was ready to cooperate with the new member. ZEPHANIA UBWANI in Arusha, Tanzania africareview.com/News/Magufuli-says-regional-bloc-wasteful/-/979180/3100946/-/format/xhtml/-/gl55rqz/-/index.html
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