The high costs of Covid-19 tests is now becoming a hindrance to the free movement of people and goods in the East African Community (EAC). This is according to members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), who are rooting for harmonised costs and to make them more affordable. Dennis Namara, Chairperson of the Committee on General Purpose at EALA said that the Covid-19 related non-tariff barriers (NTBs) continue to hinder cross-border trade in the region. He was on Wednesday, June 30, presenting the report of the committee on the EAC budget estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2021/22 during the EALA plenary session. “It costs an average of $100 to carry out a Covid-19 test of visitors in the six EAC partner States. The Committee finds this cost prohibitive and a challenge to the free movement of persons and goods in the region,” Namara said. It was also noted that EAC citizens are subjected to double testing whereby they are tested before departure and upon arrival in the country of destination, he exposed. “The EAC region must cooperate to harmonise Covid-19 protocols and containment measures to reduce the cost of travel...while not undermining the safety of its citizens,” he said. Indeed, the cost of testing for Covid-19 is generally higher than the cost of the vaccine against the disease. Available vaccines are currently priced at around $10 and $70 each (including those with a two-dose regimen). The costs for Covid-19 vary in the EAC Partner States. For instance, in Rwanda, the test is $50 if it is done through the real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and $10 for rapid antigen test, while in Tanzania, Covid-19 RT-PCR test is $100 and $25 for a rapid antigen test. Francine Rutazana said that the harmonisation of Covid-19 testing and related costs with regard to making them affordable would ease the movement of people and goods, which is the essence of regional integration. “The current costs are high and prohibitive…for instance, some cross-border women traders told us that they cannot afford them,” Rutazana said, indicating that businesses were struggling in the wake of the pandemic. “We request that the leaders of this Community sit together and harmonise the Covid-19 testing system and related prices as well as ensure that the results are at the same standards such that when a citizen comes from one EAC member country after being tested for the disease, they will not be subjected to another test when they reach another member country, rather the results will be trusted in others,” she said. Rutazana pointed out that the development would facilitate trade, observing that “though we are during the Covid-19 pandemic, we should look for ways to sustain trade.” “And, if a trader incurs such a cost and factors it in the price of goods when selling them to consumers, it will result in the rise of the cost of living,” she said.
