Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Herald Reporter
A VISA-FREE Africa is not just a mobility reform, but a strategic economic transformation agenda for the continent, Sadc Executive Secretary Mr Elias Magosi has said.
In his remarks after participating as a panellist at the High-Level Symposium on Advancing a Visa-Free Africa for Economic Prosperity, convened by the African Development Bank Group, the Executive Secretary said the free movement of people in Africa aligned with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and aspirations of the African Union Agenda 2063.
Mr Magosi called for a revitalisation of political commitment and united efforts toward the ratification of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, saying a Visa-Free Africa served as an economic multiplier for the continent.
“While Africa has made commendable strides toward regional integration, progress on the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons remains limited.
“Only four Member States have ratified the protocol to date, against the 15 required for it to enter into force.
“This calls for renewed political will and collective action,” said the Executive Secretary,” he said.
Mr Magosi emphasised that continental integration cannot be fully realised if the movement of people remains constrained.
Complex visa regimes, he said, were hampering intra-African trade, hence the need for their removal.
“A Visa-Free Africa is an economic multiplier. It strengthens regional value chains, enhances labour mobility, promotes knowledge exchange, and deepens people-to-people connections, all essential for the successful implementation of AfCFTA,” said Mr Magosi.
He said Regional Economic Communities must continue harmonising policies, strengthening border management systems, and advancing coordinated action to transform Africa’s borders from barriers into bridges.
“Removing mobility barriers would unlock immense opportunities for trade, cross-border investment, tourism, youth entrepreneurship, and skills mobility,” said the Executive Secretary.
Attaining Africa’s integration aspirations depends on the ability of its people to move freely across borders.
The 10th edition of the Africa Visa Openness Index, released last December by the Bank Group and the African union (AU) Commission, shows that only 28,2 percent of intra-African travel is visa-free.
While progress has been recorded, more than half of journeys within the continent still require visas, and newer systems such as e-visas have introduced additional costs and administrative barriers.
As implementation of the AfCFTA and the Single African Air Transport Market accelerates, advancing the free movement of people has become more critical than ever to unlocking trade, investment, tourism and job creation.
