Era of the African Passport - a Mixed Bag of Opportunities? TheExchangeEA: Africa
Despite the passage of numerous set deadlines, incessant delays exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic; after eight years since inception of the initiative, Africans continue to harbour hope that the African Passport nears its official distribution date, and will prove instrumental in relaxing travel restrictions, thereby breaking barriers in intra-African trade and mobility. The mass rollout is yet to materialize but is projected to happen this year.
Similarly, the Union had set a target of achieving intracontinental free trade by 2017, and abolishing visas for Africans to move within the continent by 2018. However, its mass roll-out has been plagued by delays and further worsened by the pandemic, which heralded travel restrictions. Nonetheless, with dispensation of vaccines, a return to normalcy has been witnessed that has in tandem seen most restrictions get lifted.
The initiative aims at transforming Africa's laws, which remain generally restrictive on the movement of people. This, despite political commitments to bring down borders, with the view to promote the issuance of visas by member states, thereby enhancing free movement of all African citizens within the continent.
According to the Africa Visa Openness Index, Africans need a visa entry to 55 per cent of African countries on average. Most of this visas are valid for one month, making frequent business trips an unnecessary struggle. Currently, it takes about 30 visas to get through the entire continent, often you have to leave the continent to only to come back.
"By supporting the free movement of people, we make it easier for Africans to do business in Africa. Free movement of people, especially workers could help plug skills gaps, while enabling countries to fix skills mismatches in their labour markets," said Jean-Guy Afrika, the Officer-In-Charge of the Regional Integration Coordination Office at the African Development Bank .
The African Passport will greatly boost Africa's tourism sector, which is a top foreign exchange earner in many African countries, making significant contributions to their respective GDPs such as Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.
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