The East African Business Council (EABC) is calling on East African Community (EAC) Partner States to strengthen protections for regional service suppliers and accelerate the full liberalisation of trade in services, highlighting the sector’s vital role in driving regional integration.

Under Annex V of the 2010 EAC Common Market Protocol, Partner States committed to the free movement of services across seven priority sectors: business, communications, distribution, education, financial, tourism and travel, and transport. However, critical deadlines for eliminating restrictions—including targets set for 2010, 2013, and 2015—remain unfulfilled.

Services represent a massive pillar of the East African economy. The sector currently accounts for:

  • 46% of total EAC Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
  • Over 30% of formal employment across the bloc
  • Approximately 24% of intra-EAC trade

From transport and finance to ICT, professional services, and tourism, cross-border service suppliers drive investment and economic cohesion across all Partner States.

While the EABC acknowledges that enforcing immigration, licensing, and tax laws is a sovereign right of each nation, it stresses that compliance measures must remain fair, transparent, and free of unnecessary administrative hurdles for legitimate businesses.

To bridge existing gaps, the EABC recommends a multi-pronged approach:

  • For Partner States: Formalise and support informal service providers, complete pending sector commitments, and clear overdue implementation backlogs.
  • For Service Suppliers: Maintain strict regulatory compliance by keeping licences and tax filings up to date, respecting host-country laws, and officially reporting any instances of harassment.

Facilitating the seamless operation of legitimate service providers is central to the core mission of the EAC Common Market. Moving forward, the EABC has reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating with the EAC Secretariat, national governments, and private-sector associations. Together, they aim to issue clear compliance guidance, eliminate discriminatory practices, and build an integrated regional market with zero tolerance for xenophobia.