Waiver of Kenya's subscription fee arrears to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region to be considered

Wednesday 23rd April, 2025
Luanda, Angola

Kenya has won round one in its appeal for waiver of subscription arrears to the Forum of Parliaments of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region FP-ICGLR, incurred during a period when Kenya was a non-participant.

The issue emerged during the Conference of Speakers of FP-ICGLR, in Luanda, Angola, which resolved that the query be raised as a substantive agenda to be fully resolved during the next meeting.

A delegation from the Parliament of Kenya led by the Senate Speaker, the Rt. Hon. Amason Kingi had earlier raised the matter before the FP-ICGLR Finance and Resource Mobilization Committee as well as the Executive Committee Meeting culminating in the discussion of the same during the Conference of Speakers.

The matter has been a thorny issue in FP-ICGLR meetings and a recurrent bottleneck to the fair articulation of Kenyan-related agendas before the critical regional body.

The said areas totalling USD 968, 862 were incurred between 2012 and 2015, when Kenya was not participating in FP-ICGLR activities, and was thus a dormant contributor.

Hon. Kingi asked the Conference of Speakers to take note that Kenya had not defaulted on its subscription fees in the past 10 years during which it's been an active Member State and that serious consideration ought to be made to the fact that the accrued arrears originated from a period when the country was a non-participant to FP-ICGLR activities.

In previous correspondence to FP-ICGLR, Kenya had also suggested that a technical committee be set up to revisit the matter of annual subscription payable by the Parliament of Kenya with the view of harmonizing the figure with comparable contributions made by other Member States.

Kenya has a high annual subscription pegged on its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is substantially higher than that of many other Member States.

The Speakers' Conference also confirmed that Tanzania would produce the next Secretary General of the FP-ICGLR after Kenya and Burundi which were the other two countries eligible for the slot were disqualified on a legal technicality.

Kenya and Burundi, which had fronted candidates for the seat were disqualified after it emerged that they had seconded staff to the FP-ICGLR Secretariat as at the time of nomination of their candidates contrary to the Internal Rules and Regulations 2023.

Under the rules, eligible countries are allowed to submit up to three names for the post, from which the final nominee is picked for appointment to the post during the Plenary of the FP-ICGLR Assembly.

Kenya nominated Hon. Boniface Okhiya, Ms. Nahida Athman Mohamed and Hon. Adan Haji Ali.

Following today's decision, the SG will be announced tomorrow during the Plenary Session from Tanzania's list that comprises Hon. Amb. Liberata Mulamula and Mr. Sitta Ngissa.

The position is currently held by Zambia's Mr. Ronald Mwelwa Tembo in an acting capacity.

The Speaker Kingi-led Kenyan delegation is comprised of Mandera Senator Ali Roba, his Nyeri counterpart Wahome Wamatinga, nominated Senator Hezena Lemaletian and Buuri MP, Hon. Mugambi Rindikiri.

The Conference will conclude on Friday, April 25, 2025.