A top organ of East African Community (EAC) has welcomed with praises a decision taken by the Secretary General (SG) Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko to suspend, reprimand officials who have been adversely mentioned in graft related cases and financial malpractices at the secretariat.
TrumpetNews understands that a Council of Ministers which sat on Wednesday made two resolutions; that since Burundi wasn’t represented in the meeting, there was not quorum as per rule 11 of the EAC Rules of Procedure of Council.
Therefore, the ministers agreed to refer to the sitting as an “informal meeting” and no decision in such meeting is binding to the member states.
The ministers further discussed graft cases at the secretariat which resulted into suspension of top official whose name had adversely been involved in financial irregularities.
Around October Mr. Mfumukeko took a decision to suspend Poventra Anjimbi, a senior procurement officer, a Kenyan national after the secretariat’s audit commission found he was massively involved in fraudulent process as he executed his duties.
Mfumukeko who hails from Burundi further sent warning letters to Dr. Anthony Kafumbe, the counsel to the secretariat and Mrs Ruth Simba, the director of human resource.
Surprisingly a coordination committee comprised of Permanent Secretaries and Under Secretaries chaired by Edith Mwanje (Uganda) sat Tuesday in Arusha and recommended that the actions taken against the three employees was violating staff rules and regulations of EAC and would arise into a court case which would cost the secretariat.
Mwanje and her committee therefore asked the Council of Ministers to revoke Mfumukeko’s decision taken against the trio.
Shockingly the Wednesday meeting weighed in on the Secretary Genera’s actions and advised that he checks on compliance of such decisions with the EAC staff rules and regulations.
Further, the ministers unanimously supported that Mfumukeko carries on and implements the recommendations of the audit commission and the Audit and Risk Committee as long as the rules are complied with.
The ministers sharply disagreed with the Mwanje led Committee and quashed its decisions it made earlier on Tuesday of exonerating officials named in financial malpractices.
Observers described as “threatening the future of Integration” should member states continue to protect their citizens whose names have been mentioned in several fraudulent process and graft related cases at EAC.