Civil society organisations (CSOs) have called on the East African Community (EAC) heads to fast track the free movement of people for seamless trade to take place in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CSOs comprised of EASSI, SEATINI and CEFROHT said that although the EAC heads of state committed themselves to free movement of goods, persons and services, this hasn’t been materialised.

They added that the situation has been made worse at the recently opened border between Rwanda and Uganda, where traders still find it hard to freely cross over to carry out trade.

The situation has been made worse with COVID-19 standard operating procedures, where traders are required to be tested every time they cross the border of which results are valid for only 72 hours.

Sheila Kawamara-Mishambi, the executive director of the Eastern African Sub-Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) added that such a situation is likely to discourage cross border trade, especially for women.

The women usually trade in fresh produce like Irish potatoes, beans, tomatoes among others. Apart from fresh produce, bigger traders deal in manufactured goods.

“Apart from COVID-19, other non-tariff barriers that still limit the free movement of persons include refusal to accept national IDs while crossing to some EAC countries. Currently, it is only Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya that accept national IDs as travel documents for members in the region,” added Mishambi.

Jane Nalunga, executive director SEATINI added that while the re-opening of the border could be celebrated news, the travel restrictions and the demand to observe the EAC COVID-19 protocols will continue to be an enormous non-tariff barrier to trade, particularly for the small and medium scale traders, majority of whom are women.

“The observance of these protocols will put a heavy toll on the small business people that have capital that is far below the $50 that is demanded the test, each time one crosses an East African border.

“It is therefore important for the EAC to revise the COVID 19protocols and ease the restrictions that have been imposed on and are suffocating the small-scale cross border businesses across the region,” said Nalunga.

According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Uganda exported goods worth $2.31 million in 2020, a figure likely to remain stagnant if the above challenges are not addressed.