President Ruto bows out as EAC Chair, hands over to Museveni

The leaders of the East African Community (EAC) have adopted a raft of measures aimed at promoting equity and fairness within the regional bloc.

The recommendations were deliberated on and agreed upon during the 25th Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania, on Saturday.

Announcing the changes, President William Ruto, who is also the outgoing Chairperson of the EAC Heads of State Summit, said the wide-ranging proposals take consideration of economic strength of each country.

Importantly, the meeting reviewed the bloc's financial contribution framework of the EAC to align with the economic interests and capacities of Member States.

"This morning, we have decided that Member States with bigger economies and benefit more from the EAC should pay more," the President said during his handover statement.

Present were Presidents Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Évariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Somalia), development partners and members of the diplomatic corps.

According to the new formula, each of the eight Member States will contribute 50 per cent toward the EAC's annual budget, while the rest of the contributions will be assessed on each country's ability to pay.

The summit also resolved to waive 50 per cent of arrears owed by Partner States and granted them a two-year grace period to pay the balance.

Furthermore, the meeting agreed that future nominations to the top five EAC posts will be pegged on whether nominating Member States have ratified the East African Treaty and fully paid their financial obligations to the Community.

During the meeting, President Museveni was elected new Chairperson of the EAC Heads of State Summit while Rwanda was elected Rapporteur of the Summit.

During the meeting, the leaders appointed Tanzania's Steven Patrick Mbundi as new EAC Secretary-General, replacing Kenya's Veronica Nduva who served from June 2024.

The summit also saw the swearing-in of three new judges to the East African Court of Justice, namely Somalia's Abdullahi Warsamme, Kenya's Anne Amadi, and South Sudan's Digo Stephen Abraham.

President Ruto also announced that the summit resolved that future decisions of the bloc will be taken unanimously or with a quorum of 65 per cent of members present.

Furthermore, the Heads of State resolved that respective Member States shall pay salaries of their Members of the East African Legislative Assembly from December 2027 after the end of the current term.

At the same time, President Ruto outlined some of the successes achieved during his 15-month chairmanship of EAC, including efforts to resolve the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Additionally, he announced that the volume of trade within the bloc rose by nearly 22 per cent from $33 billion in 2024 to $40.3 billion in 2025.

"Exports from the region grew significantly by 32 per cent to $19.6 billion, while imports rose more moderately by 13 per cent to $20.6 billion. This narrowed the region’s trade deficit from $3.4 billion to $1.0 billion," he said.

In his acceptance remarks, President Museveni called for increased trade among Member States, the continent and beyond.

"If we do not create a big and reliable market for our wealth creators, how do businesses expand to produce more products, create more jobs and pay more taxes?" he asked.

He further urged young people from Eastern Africa and the continent to embrace unity and shun unnecessary acts of civil disobedience that could hold back progress.

The meeting also formally launched the EAC Seventh Development Strategy (2026/27-2030/31), and the East African Customs Bond.

Also present at the meeting were Rwanda's Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva, South Sudan's Foreign Affairs minister Monday Kumba, and DR Congo's Regional Integration minister Floribert Anzuluni Isiloketshi, representing Presidents of their respective countries.