East Africa Legislative Assembly in Arusha, Tanzania - Photo credit - EALA website

Leaders of the East African Community (EAC) have agreed that members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) will in future be paid by their respective national parliaments instead of the regional bloc.

The decision was announced in the communiqué of the 25th Ordinary Summit of the East African Community Heads of State, held in Arusha, Tanzania, on March 7, 2026.

According to the summit resolution, the new arrangement will take effect in December 2027, after the current term of the regional parliament ends.

Under the decision, lawmakers serving in EALA will receive salaries and benefits from their respective national assemblies rather than from the EAC Secretariat.

Regional leaders said the change is part of broader financial reforms aimed at making the Community more sustainable and reducing the financial burden on the regional budget.

The summit was chaired by out going chairperson William Ruto, President of Kenya, and attended by several heads of state including Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, and representatives from South Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In addition to the decision on EALA remuneration, the summit also adopted a new financing formula for the EAC, under which partner states will contribute 50 percent equally and 50 percent based on assessed contributions, beginning July 2026.

The leaders said the reforms are intended to strengthen regional integration and ensure the effective functioning of EAC institutions while promoting sustainable financing for the bloc.