The East African Legislative Assembly wants more resources from partner states to help execute its mandate.

Assembly Speaker Margaret Zziwa said the current assembly is faced with financial challenges, which may affect its operations, especially its oversight role.

“We need to ask partner states to review their funding because we require more money,” Ms Zziwa told journalists in Parliament buildings, Nairobi. The council of ministers is said to be exploring alternative sources of revenue like single customs territory to generate income for the assembly.

Eala is sitting in Nairobi until September 14. One of the suggestions is to have each country contribute at least one per cent of its Gross Domestic Product. Currently all the states contribute an equal amount.

Each of the five EAC countries has seven members and a seven-member council of ministers.

The Ugandan representative said the assembly would put pressure on ministers to generate more Bills for deliberation. In the last assembly, ministers generated only nine Bills, excluding the Appropriation Bills.

Despite the implementation of the Customs Union and the Common Market, Zziwa said there are still hurdles in doing business in the region such us non-tariff barriers and the slow uptake of the agenda of the East African Community in the national policy networks.

She also expressed optimism that the Monetary Union and initial steps of the Political Federation would be realised.

By Peter Opiyo, The Standard