EALA LAWMAKERS WANT BETTER PAY FOR EAC STAFF

 

The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has called for better renumerations for the staff of the East African Community (EAC).

These have to include enhanced salaries and allowances of members of the regional Assembly and other employees.

The EAC secretariat, the executive organ of the Community, has been tasked to spearhead the process.

"Salaries and allowances should also be reviewed every five years", said Ms Suzan Nakawuki, a lawmaker from Uganda.

Tabling a Motion before the House sitting in Arusha on Wednesday, the outspoken MP decried the salaries offered by the regional organization.

She hastened to say they (salaries) were among the lowest paid in the African continent despite the status of the EAC.

Ms Nakawuki said this has led to the EAC serving as a "training ground", for other regional bodies for the staff leaving the Community for other organizations.

These include the African Union and other regional economic communities (RECs) "with competitive terms and conditions".

EAC, she went on, was losing its professional staff to the organizations in question "because of their competitive terms of service".

She cited the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (Cassoa), an institution of the EAC, which is lately losing its key staff.

The Entebbe-based agency has some of the  highly qualified personnel in the aviation and allied sub-sectors.

The Private Member Motion, that the legislator moved on the final days of the 4th Assembly,was later adopted by the House.

Ms Nakawuki said the renumerations offered to the EAC staff contrasted with the status of the organization ranked as the best REC in Africa.

She added she was concerned that unattractive and uncompetitive terms of service are likely to further derail the staff morale.

Seconding the Motion, Fred Mukasa Mbidde, another MP from Uganda, said it had been too long when the EAC salaries were reviewed.

He said this was not proper in that the value of money had gone down due to inflation and the general rise in the cost of living.

The existing emoluments for MPs and staff, he explained, was "not consistent with the diplomatic and international character of the lawmakers and staff".

Mr.Mbidde said there had been an increased workload of the staff of the Community "everytime a new member is admitted".

An MP from Rwanda Mr Francois Kalinda said it was a pity nothing has been done since 2013.

That followed a directive from the EAC Summit of Heads of State to the authoritative Council of Ministers.

"We are again urging the Council of Ministers to recommend to the next Summit proposals for increased renumerations", he said.

Other speakers called for a four percent annual increment for the EAC staff salaries "as is the case with other RECs in Africa".

The EAC and its organs and institutions scattered across the region have approximately 400 personnel on its payroll.

These include 63 Eala Members from the seven partner states, Judges of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) and senior executives under the Secretariat.

About 200 of them are working at the EAC seat in Arusha, majority of them with the Secretariat serving as in the professional and support staff ranks.