ARUSHA – As the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) by-election gathers momentum, frontrunner Dr. Tendo Ronex Kisembo has issued a fiery critique against all East African Community partner states, accusing their finance ministers of reading budgets that allocated absolutely nothing to popularizing the regional bloc.
Speaking exclusively on the state of regional integration, Dr. Kisembo noted with concern that while budgets for 2026/27 have been presented across the partner states, there was a conspicuous absence of funds dedicated to making East Africans aware of their own community.
“All the partner states have read their budgets. We need to pay attention. There was no money allocated for popularizing the East African Community,” Kisembo asserted. “I expect to see deliberate efforts by finance ministers to allocate budgets for this cause.”
Dr. Kisembo took particular issue with the current fragmented approach to marketing the region’s tourism potential. He argued that individual national campaigns – Uganda’s Explore Uganda, Tanzania’s Unforgettable Tanzania, Rwanda’s Visit Rwanda, and Kenya’s Magical Kenya – should be scrapped in favor of a unified brand.
“This fragmentation of marketing tourism attractions should stop,” he said. “Instead, we should have Visit East Africa and show the beauty of East Africa as one destination.”
The EALA hopeful emphasized that budgets must focus greatly on critical infrastructure, particularly a standard railway gauge that would seamlessly connect the region.
“We need a railway where one can travel from Malaba to Kampala, to western Uganda, to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and later to South Sudan,” he outlined, painting a vision of a physically integrated East Africa.
While Dr. Kisembo expressed appreciation for the Ugandan government and President Museveni’s commitment to purchase 10 aircraft for Uganda Airlines, he urged regional leaders to take bolder steps.
“Merging Kenya Airways, FlyRwandAir, Uganda Airlines, and Air Tanzania should be prioritized by our East African heads of state,” Kisembo declared. “This will significantly boost the aviation sector through affordable tickets, increase cross-border mobility, and improve trade and domestic tourism.”
To drive his point home, he highlighted a glaring disparity:
“International airspace from Entebbe to Nairobi costs $600 for a flight of 40 minutes, yet the same flight from Mombasa to Nairobi on domestic airspace costs only $150 for a return flight of 40 minutes.”
He cited South Korea as a model – a nation with standard railway gauge, cheap airspace, and good roads that have made movement remarkably fast.
Dr. Kisembo stressed that respective ministries of EAC partner states must budget for popularizing integration through Kiswahili as a language of trade and wider communication.
“There is no integration without a common language,” he stated firmly.
On security, Dr. Kisembo praised Uganda’s budget allocation of Shs 10.21 trillion for peace and security in the 2026/27 financial year, calling it very good.
“Peace is the foundation for investor confidence and businesses,” he said, urging full support for the East Africa Standby Force to ensure stability across the region.
He also commended the Ministry of Education and Sports for allocating Shs 460.78 billion towards hosting the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), describing sports as a powerful vehicle for regional unity. He noted that the joint bid to host AFCON was a good step, and applauded the leadership for the budgetary commitment.
