Members of the East African Legislative Assembl y (EALA) will earn US$4,800 monthly from the next financial year, if leaders of t he five-nation East African Community (EAC) approve a US$1,500 increase in their
basic monthly salary as recommended Thursday by the Council of Ministers.
A member of the EALA is currently paid US$3,300 per month.
Adopting the EAC’s US$59,963,040 budget for fiscal 2010/2011, the Council of Min isters also directed the Community Secretariat to develop a comprehensive propos a l for the increase in per diem rates for the executive staff, Speaker, judges, E A LA members and professional and general staff applicable to travel within East A f rica, Africa and outside Africa for its consideration.
The approved budget includes an allocation of US$1,047,892 to cater for the incr ease in the EALA members’ salary, according to a statement issued by the EAC sec r etariat after the Council session in Arusha, Tanzania.
The Council noted that majority of the partner States had cleared their outstand ing contributions to the Community for fiscal 2009/2010 and the rest were in adv a nced stages of remitting the balances.
With a population of 126.6 million, the EAC region has an average GDP per capit a of US$506.
Its member countries are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
