By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala
A key development, currently underway, within SADC’s business and professional services sector is the operationalisation of Article 7 of the Protocol, which provides for Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs), as noted by the Trade Law Center in its August 2026 newsletter.
The MRAs are aimed at facilitating and regulating the cross-border movement of service suppliers.
Currently, only four countries (Rwanda, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, and Mali) have ratified the Free Movement Protocol, while 49 have now ratified the AfCFTA.
A concrete example of the MRA architecture in practice is the ongoing work toward a regional MRA for legal services and tourism services such as tour guides.
The Newsletter reflected on the 2026 SADC Summit & African Integration Architecture with a strict focus on Southern Africa’s trade footprint.
The Trade Law Center (Tralac) reflection revealed that the technical negotiation of professional MRAs exposes a broader, highly sensitive structural tension within African integration.
This is the intrinsic linkage between the movement of service suppliers and the overarching movement of persons agenda.
At the continental level, the AfCFTA contains specific, structured parameters allowing defined categories of service users and providers to cross borders for service consumption (e.g., tourism) and delivery (e.g., temporary presence in another jurisdiction to supply legal services).
The bigger continental vision, however, is that “free movement” is encapsulated in the African Union Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment.
The SADC heads of state, during the Durban Summit, deliberated on how maintaining their trade dominance requires addressing deep-seated structural challenges, and movement of persons was at the centre.
Tralac observers and analysts indicated that the Summit erupted into serious discussions when it came to the issue of human mobility.
“Heated policy dialogues surfaced regarding regional migration tensions and the need for a coordinated, rights-respecting approach to cross-border human mobility, which remains a vital component for a truly integrated service economy,” the Centre observed.
CONNECTING HUMAN MOBILITY TO REGIONAL REALITIES
The Tralac team explained that the political and social realities of human mobility remain exceptionally sensitive on the continent.
This is also reflected in the number of the 55 AU member states that have ratified the Free Movement Protocol, while 49 have now ratified the AfCFTA.
Only Rwanda, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, and Mali have so far ratified the mobility protocols.
According to Tralac, this friction between continental integration ambition and localised socio-political anxieties has visibly manifested on the streets of Durban during the 2026 SADC Summit.
The gathering of heads of state at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC) coincided with active anti-immigration demonstrations led by groups like the “March and March” movement.
The analysts indicated that the rising tensions directly spilled over into the formal Summit dialogue.
SADC leaders openly expressed that their respective governments were deeply hurt by the hostile treatment and vulnerabilities faced by their citizens abroad.
In response, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa issued an official statement of apology to the bloc, affirming that the South African government “was profoundly ashamed of these xenophobic flare-ups and anti-migrant hostilities.”
Currently underway, within SADC’s business and professional services sector, is the operationalisation of Article 7 of the Protocol.
This protocol provides for Mutual Recognition Agreements to facilitate and regulate the cross-border movement of service suppliers.
The Legal Practice Council (LPC) of South Africa, through recent regional draft frameworks (such as the draft text circulated for stakeholder input), aims to establish equivalence and trust in the quality of legal services across SADC.
The invitation, via the LPC, is for comment on the Mutual Recognition Agreement for the Legal Profession.
The MRAs are designed to reduce compliance and registration costs, accelerate market entry, and provide a predictable environment for legal practitioners to provide professional legal services in the SADC region.
This operational mobility enables firms to deliver seamless, multi-jurisdictional legal services, which are essential for structuring complex cross-border commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and industrial investment portfolios within the region.
According to Tralac, SADC experience with MRA development can contribute to facilitating the AfCFTA process to support the integration of professional services markets across the AfCFTA membership.
Adding that if Regional Economic Committees and the AfCFTA are to build a sustainable, integrated manufacturing, service and digital economy, trade facilitation and services liberalization, professional MRAs must be accompanied by robust, rights-respecting migration frameworks.
This includes border management modernisation and proactive domestic social policies that mitigate xenophobia and address localised economic competition.
erastus@thevillager.com.na
