East African Community free trade agreement coincides with US funding boost

The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organization comprising five countries; Tanzania, Rwanda Burundi, Kenya, and Uganda.  The organization was originally founded in 1967, by three members; Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.  It collapsed in 1977, and was officially revived on 7 July 2000. The Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Burundi acceded to the EAC Treaty in 2007 to complete the EAC family.

Other than in the FY 2008, where Tanzania received the highest amount of money, Kenya has consistently received more than other member countries. Rwanda and Burundi, the youngest members of the EAC have been receiving the least amount of funds from the US across the five financial years.

In the five year period, Kenya has received the highest gross amount at 4,141,929,147 USD and Burundi the least, with a total of 258,804,519 USD.

Kenya has been steadily receiving more funds each financial year, other than FY2010 when funding went down, before jumping back up the following year.

Mercy Juma
About the Author: Mercy Juma
A broadcast journalist with the Nation Media Group, East Africa’s largest media house, Mercy Juma is always looking for opportunities to grow in journalism. This is why she applied for the2013 Internews Health and Data Journalism Fellowship. She reported for the fellowship on August 19 her eyes shining with expectation. “I hope that the fellowship will make me an all-rounder health journalist who tells story that have impact” she says. She developed an interest in journalism when she was a student at Moi University, after a stint as a reporter and editor at the university’s radio station. Her relentless pursuit of knowledge has seen her attend several workshops among them the Youth Leadership and Succession Politics by Internews in Kenya. “I covered the 2013 General Election effectively as a reporter because of the training I got from Internews.”
Author Website: http://nation.co.ke

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *