The East African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers has lifted the moratorium on recruitment in the organs and institutions of the Community, paving the way for a phased recruitment exercise beginning this financial year.
The decision was reached during a meeting held in Mombasa, Kenya, from August 18 to 21, 2026, to address urgent staffing needs across the EAC organs and institutions. The Council directed the EAC Secretariat to immediately advertise 69 priority positions across all Partner States and commence the recruitment process without further delay.
The recruitment freeze dates back to 2019, when the Council suspended recruitment and halted the processing of about 50 already-advertised vacancies following protests by some Partner States over alleged imbalances in the distribution of jobs among member states.
Uganda was at the centre of the dispute, formally moving a motion in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) to suspend the recruitment exercise. Uganda also walked out of parliamentary sessions, accusing the EAC Secretariat of corruption, unfair profiling and failure to adhere to the regional quota system.
Burundi and South Sudan joined Uganda in raising concerns about the underrepresentation of their citizens in appointments to the Secretariat. Rwanda also called for greater fairness and transparency, while Kenya and Tanzania faced accusations of disproportionately dominating staffing and job allocations within the Community.
The latest meeting was chaired by Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs, in her capacity as Chairperson of the Council of Ministers.
The meeting brought together Ministers, Permanent and Principal Secretaries, Under Secretaries and other delegates from the Partner States, alongside the EAC Secretary General and staff from the Community’s organs and institutions.
To support a more transparent and efficient recruitment process, the Council approved the use of an electronic recruitment system for hiring staff in EAC organs and institutions. It also approved job descriptions that had been validated by experts from the Partner States and appointed Pascaline Balisanga Nyiramutuzo of Rwanda as Executive Director of the East African Community Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) for a three-year term.
The decisions are expected to address critical staffing gaps, improve the operational capacity of EAC organs and institutions and enable them to effectively implement the Community’s 7th Development Strategy, which was launched by the EAC Heads of State in March 2026.
The lifting of the moratorium marks a significant step towards restoring full staffing capacity within the regional bloc, while the adoption of electronic recruitment and validated job descriptions is expected to strengthen transparency and fairness in future appointments-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
