East African Business Week

ARUSHA, TANZANIA- The European Union has provided a total of 14.6m Euros (about $20m) to support several African countries which include four East African Community (EAC) partner states to strengthen financial governance.
The four EAC member states who are the recipients of the funds that are provided through the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Africa Regional Technical Assistance Centres (AFRITAC East) include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda four of which with the exception of Rwanda are experiencing high inflation rates and rising prices of products in the region.
Other AFRITAC East member countries include Eritrea, Ethiopia and Malawi. The provision of the funds follows the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) programme to expand their partnership in support of fund's capacity building in Africa through the exchange of two contribution agreements totaling Euro14.6m (about $20 million).
The agreements, signed recently are aimed at supporting the IMF's Africa Regional Technical Assistance Centers for Eastern (AFRITAC East) under which the four EAC member states are the recipients and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean region (AFRITAC South). A statement issued recently on the IMF website said that the centres assist recipient countries in their efforts to strengthen financial governance and build effective institutions.
They also provide assistance critical to strengthening the public finances and reducing poverty, including debt and revenue management, and tax reform and also support regional integration and provide a platform for donor coordination.
 "We are delighted to expand our close partnership with the EU in support of our member countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, and are very grateful for its generous support for these two regional centers," Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu said at the ceremony marking the exchange of the agreements in Mauritius, where AFRITAC South was officially opened.  "We are expanding the AFRITAC network in response to a request by our African members, as the centers' capacity building work is highly appreciated by beneficiary countries," he said. He said the EU is helping to build a success story here in Africa as it has already done other centers in the world.  
The centres are excellent vehicles for advancing regional integration and harmonization objectives, and we look forward to working closely with all relevant parties to support better integration among countries and with the global economy."
The statement indicated that the funding comes from the EU's 10th European Development Fund (EDF) Regional Indicative Program for the Eastern and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region.
The program aims to support the integration agendas of regional organizations, strengthen regional cooperation, and support the region's integration into the global economy.
The project will assist countries as they institute reforms to improve tax administration and public finance management, standardize customs processes and procedures, reinforce the soundness of monetary frameworks and financial sectors, improve banking supervision, and strengthen data provision, thus facilitating private sector development to boost investment and growth and reduce poverty.
The Indian Ocean Commission, with the assistance of the Interregional Coordination Committee, will assume a coordination role to ensure that technical assistance and training delivered through the centers are in line with the regional integration agenda.
"The EU support aims at contributing to the regional economic integration process of the ESA-IO region," said Alessandro Mariani, Ambassador of the European Union in Mauritius.