•All restrictions in the seven service sectors that were maintained by EAC partner states in their schedule of commitment, should have been removed by December 2015.
•This is however yet to be fully achieved.
The East African Business Council (EABC) has called for the finalisation of regulations on Mutual Recognition of Academic and Professional Qualifications to boost cross-border service provision in the EAC.
It also wants a roadmap for the removal of restrictions to boost trade in services in the East African Community (EAC) bloc.
Under the Common Market Protocol, EAC partner states made commitments to liberalise seven priority service sectors.
These are business, communications, distribution, education, financial, tourism and travel and transport sectors.
According to EABC chief executive John Bosco Kalisa, EABC CEO all restrictions in the seven service sectors, that were maintained by EAC partner states in their schedule of commitment, should have been removed by December 2015.
This is however yet to be fully achieved.
The EABC Barometer on Trade in Services launched this week shows professional services of legal, accounting and auditing engineering have the highest number of restrictions at 35.
The EABC Barometer however shows a positive trend, as EAC partner states have committed to liberalise 92 new sub-sectors under the revised schedule of progressive commitment.
"This lays the foundation to build an integrated EAC services market and will result into commercially meaning-full trade of services in the EAC bloc once implementation commences," Kalisa said.
The new sub-sectors added include business services (37), transport services (36) and financial sector (10), which are all critical as key sectors in their own right, and as intermediate inputs in the manufacture of goods and production of other services.
Kalisa also urged all EAC member states to adopt the One Network Area on telecommunication as roaming costs are very high.
EAC director of trade Alhaj Richard Kibowa said trade in services is a critical component of the EAC Common Market.
Kibowa said the EAC Secretariat is committed to mainstreaming the recommendations of the EABC barometer into EAC policy decision making, to boost the performance of the services sector in the region.
The Barometer on Trade in Services in the EAC was undertaken by the East African Business Council with support from GIZ- support East African Market Driven and People-Centered Integration (SEAMPEC) Project, to gauge the performance of the service sector in the region.
It shows the region exported services worth $12.9billion (Sh1 5trillion) against $933.6 million (Sh111.6 billion) worth of imports globally (2019).
In 2020, due to the Covid pandemic impacts, this dropped by 41 per cent to $762.2 million (Sh91.2 billion) in 2020, leading the region to become a net importer, with imports worth $842.2 million(Sh100.7 billion).
Kalisa further urged the EAC Secretariat to fast- track finalisation of the EAC Common Market, develop a regional time-bound framework and agree on a timetable for the negotiation of the five service sectors not covered under the Common Market Protocol.
This, he said will broaden service integration.