IUIU Lecturer Highlights Progress and Challenges in EAC Integration at Regional Webinar
On 1st April 2026, Nagadya Hamidah, a Lecturer at the Islamic University in Uganda, participated as a speaker at a webinar hosted by the East Africa Law Society under the theme: “East African Community Decisions in Action: From Arusha Resolutions to Practical Trade Gains, Sustainable Financing and Enforcement in the EAC.” The session focused on how regional integration decisions within the East African Community (EAC) are being translated from policy commitments into tangible economic outcomes across Partner States.
In her presentation, she highlighted several tangible benefits arising from EAC Summit resolutions. She noted that the region has experienced increased intra-regional trade, largely driven by reduced trade barriers and improved policy harmonisation. She further emphasized growth in government revenue from expanded cross-border commercial activity, as well as enhanced infrastructure and trade corridors that have significantly reduced the cost and time of transporting goods across borders. Additionally, she pointed to expanded market access for businesses and the strengthening of regional value chains, which continue to drive industrial growth, productivity, and job creation.
She also underscored the importance of key trade facilitation mechanisms, including regional electronic cargo tracking systems, non-tariff barriers (NTBs) reporting and monitoring platforms shared by the EAC, SADC, and COMESA, as well as One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs), the Single Customs Territory (SCT), the Regional Customs Transit Guarantee (RCTG), and Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programmes. These initiatives, she noted, have significantly improved efficiency, reduced delays, and enhanced trust in cross-border trade systems. She further emphasized digital integration as a critical driver of seamless regional trade and economic coordination.
At the same time, she highlighted a broader and more complex set of challenges affecting the effective functioning of the East African Single Market. These include the persistence of non-tariff barriers (NTBs), lack of political will and ongoing sovereignty concerns among Partner States, and uneven levels of economic development that hinder balanced regional growth. She also noted persistent infrastructure deficits, particularly in transport and logistics networks, as well as inefficiencies in border operations that continue to slow trade.
Further challenges include overlapping regional memberships (such as EAC, SADC, and COMESA), which often result in conflicting obligations, and unharmonised policies and regulatory frameworks that create fragmentation in implementation. She also pointed to institutional and administrative weaknesses that limit enforcement capacity, alongside limited engagement between the private and public sectors in advancing regional integration goals.
Additionally, restrictions on the free movement of labour continue to undermine the full realization of the Common Market Protocol, while limited access to finance—especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs)—constrains their participation in cross-border trade. She also emphasized low levels of awareness and technical capacity among stakeholders, which further hinder effective utilisation of EAC frameworks and opportunities.
She stressed that stronger private sector participation is essential to fully realise the benefits of EAC integration. This requires enhanced public–private dialogue, more robust enforcement of regional commitments, harmonisation of trade and investment regulations, improved digital trade facilitation systems, and increased awareness of EAC frameworks among businesses.
Additionally, she called for stronger enforcement mechanisms, including the application of sanctions where necessary, to ensure compliance among Partner States and stakeholders. She also emphasized the need to improve access to finance for SMEs and advocated for citizen-centric EAC policies that directly respond to the needs of ordinary people and businesses, ensuring inclusive and tangible benefits.
Ultimately, her presentation underscored the importance of moving beyond policy formulation to effective implementation, ensuring that EAC regional integration achieves sustainable, inclusive, and measurable economic transformation across East Africa.
