Under the East African Community (EAC)’s new funding model, Rwanda's total annual contribution will amount to $7.2 million, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

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Previously, each member state was required to contribute an equal amount of approximately $7 million annually in line with the EAC Treaty.

However, regional leaders recently agreed to reform the bloc's financing model by adopting a formula that links member states' contributions more closely to their economic strength.

Under the new model, which takes effect on July 1, contributions will be divided into two equal components. Half of the budget (50 per cent) will be shared equally among all member states, while the remaining 50 per cent will be allocated according to each country’s economic capacity, measured using the average nominal GDP per capita over the previous five years.

The data will be sourced from institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

How Rwanda’s contribution was calculated:

An official in the ministry of foreign affairs, told The New Times that Rwanda's assessed contribution was calculated based on its average GDP per capita between 2020 and 2024, which stood at $922.

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He said Rwanda's total contribution would amount to $7.2 million of which $3.7million represents the assessed contribution based on GDP per capita.

The remaining $3.5 million will constitute the equal contribution component shared by all member states.

Under the new model, Kenya will remain the largest contributor to the EAC budget, with its annual contribution rising from $7 million to $11.6 million.

Tanzania will contribute $8.2 million annually, followed by Uganda with $7.3 million and Rwanda with $7.2 million.

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The Democratic Republic of Congo will contribute $5.9 million, while Somalia's contribution is set at $5.8 million. South Sudan and Burundi will contribute $5.2 million and $4.5 million, respectively.

The combined annual contributions of all eight member states will amount to $55.7 million.

EALA funding discussions ongoing

Meanwhile the official said discussions are ongoing on how members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) will be remunerated by their respective countries rather than through the EAC's central budget.

By press time, the EAC Secretariat had not responded to requests from The New Times for further details on the implementation of the new funding model and progress on other reforms.

In March, EAC leaders approved new rules aimed at addressing persistent non-payment of contributions by member states, particularly those with the largest arrears.

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Among the decisions was a proposal to write off 50 per cent of the approximately $89 million in outstanding membership arrears owed by member states.

Among the largest debtors is the Democratic Republic of Congo, which owes approximately $27.7 million. It is followed by Burundi, which owes $22.7 million, South Sudan with $21.8 million, and Somalia with $10.5 million.

The funding shortfall has already affected EAC institutions, leading to delayed staff salaries, postponed meetings and stalled projects.

For example, EALA was forced to suspend its activities during the first half of 2025.