EAST African finance ministers yesterday convened under the auspices of the Kenyan Treasury in a pre-budget meeting tied with identifying regional priorities for collective consideration as the International Development Association (IDA) readies for IDA-21 disbursement cycle.

Finance minister Dt Mwigulu Nchemba, stressed the importance of the meeting in preparation for IDA21 loans and grants window, with the World Bank soft loans window recently laying emphasis for the EAC member states to put up more of their own funding in strategic issues like environmental pollution in Lake Victoria, owing to draining untreated sewage into the lake.

A Treasury statement said over the weekend that the minister said the discussions are meant to identify key priorities for financing and stating the case for an ambitious refinancing of IDA engagement in supporting transformational development objectives in the region.

The ‘IDA for Africa’ Heads of State Summit for IDA-21 engagement precisions is expected to start today in Nairobi, thus the ministers’ meeting was convened to seek common positions during the summit.

The ministers seek to state the case for increasing funds in the IDA-21 window, without referring to the specifically controversial areas, some of which could be gleaned from top executives’ remarks during the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings in Washington DC last week.

IDA resources are concessional loans with low or zero interest rates with repayment periods set at 30 to 40 years, with Tanzania using this window to secure funds to implement o funds for education, water and powero generation projects in particular, he said.

The priorities which the leaders will come up with will be considered in preparing IDA-21 disbursements expected to commence mid next year to June 2028, he said, noting that IDA loans enable the countries to avoid depending on loans from commercial banks as they are difficult to service and repay.

The ministers’ meeting laying the framework for the summit emphasised the need for availability of funds to support African countries recover from various disasters, to steer the way for more progress towards the sustainable development goals.

Others in the Tanzanian delegation included Dr Saada Mkuya Salum, the Finance and Planning state minister in the Zanzibar President’s Office, Treasury permanent secretary Dr Natu Mwamba and the Zanzibar commissioner for external finance, Yussuf Ibrahim Yussuf.