ARUSHA: TANZANIA’S Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation responsible for East African Affairs, James Millya, has participated in the Third Meeting (Fourth Sitting) of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), currently taking place at the Assembly’s headquarters in Arusha, where members debated and adopted the East African Community (EAC) budget for the 2026/2027 financial year.
The session, which began on June 22, 2026, saw Millya providing clarifications on behalf of the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of the Community regarding issues arising from the audit report of the EAC financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2023. He also addressed concerns raised in the report of the Committee on Communication, Trade, and Investment regarding the performance of One Stop Border Posts (OSBP).
During the meeting, Millya commended the decisions of the 25th Summit of EAC Heads of State on the new budget contribution formula for the Community, saying it would help address the challenge of insufficient financial resources in the implementation of EAC activities.
ALSO READ: Parliament names three for EALA seats
Under the new arrangement, 50 percent of the budget will be contributed equally by all member states, while the remaining 50 percent will be based on each country’s economic capacity, taking into account agreed economic indicators.
Millya also took the opportunity to congratulate nine newly elected Members of Parliament from the Federal Republic of Somalia and three MPs from the United Republic of Tanzania who participated for the first time following their election to the EALA.