{"id":59304,"date":"2025-07-19T20:44:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T20:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/why-dont-all-africans-have-free-movement-within-africa"},"modified":"2025-07-19T21:03:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T21:03:53","slug":"why-dont-all-africans-have-free-movement-within-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/why-dont-all-africans-have-free-movement-within-africa","title":{"rendered":"Why don\u2019t all Africans have free movement within Africa?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>THE African Union\u2019s vision for seamless movement across the continent is facing challenges. The protocol that would allow Africans to move freely across borders remains largely unratified.<\/p>\n

The African Union\u2019s Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, adopted in 2018, aims to give Africans the right to live and work anywhere within the bloc. It was meant to complement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) launched in 2019 and operationalized in 2021.<\/p>\n

But only four countries \u2014 Mali, Niger, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe \u2014 have ratified the free movement protocol. Thirty-two other nations have signed the protocol, but it needs at least 15 ratifications to come into force.<\/p>\n

African Union (AU) officials are concerned about the slow pace towards ratifications and the implications for trade on the continent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that without free movement of persons of goods and services, the ideals of AfCFTA would not be achieved,\u201d said Amma Adomaa TwumAmoah, the AU\u2019s Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they aren\u2019t able to move freely, then trading will become an issue,\u201d she told DW.<\/p>\n

Why so many African countries have not finalized free movement<\/b><\/p>\n

Security concerns top the list of reasons why African nations have been reluctant to ratify the protocol. \u201cOne of the things that they [African countries] usually mention is about security.<\/p>\n

If you open the borders, won\u2019t people come in and terrorize and things like that?\u201d Hardi Yakubu, movement coordinator of Africans Rising, an NGO that advocates for Pan-Africanism, told DW. Twum-Amoah echoed this sentiment, acknowledging that \u201cfor most member states, it is security.\u201d Margaret Kamar, a Kenyan senator and member of the PanAfrican Parliament, the legislature of the African Union, added that the lack of harmonized border systems is another hurdle.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody has small fears about security systems,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the border points, we realized that we have not harmonized the systems. When you open borders, you want to be sure that these rights to entry for any member of the partner states can be accounted for, because you must account for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the issue of revenue. Many African governments rely on the income generated by visa application fees. A visa-free regime, they fear, could mean financial losses.<\/p>\n

Twum-Amoah disagrees. \u201cThe idea of losing money, I really don\u2019t subscribe to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rwanda: a model for the continent<\/b><\/p>\n

Rwanda is being held up as a success story following its ratification of the protocol. The East African nation has also integrated its border systems to track entries efficiently \u2014 whether by land or air.<\/p>\n

\u201cRwanda has integrated their systems completely. Whether you enter Rwanda [by] bus or through the airport, they can track you. So, we found that this is something that other countries can learn from,\u201d Kamar said.<\/p>\n

In terms of losing revenue from a visa-free policy, Kamar cautioned against such fears.<\/p>\n

\u201cRwanda is a very good example where they increased the number of tourists and earned more from their expenditure inside the country than the $200 [\u20ac173], they would have been chasing, looking for a visa,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Peer-to-peer learning: a new strategy<\/b><\/p>\n

To address the slow pace of ratification, the AU has launched a peer-to-peer learning initiative to foster dialogue between nations to share best practices and address mutual concerns related to free movement.<\/p>\n

The first session was held in Accra, Ghana, earlier this month, and more are planned.<\/p>\n

Twum-Amoah noted that \u201cwe need to also undertake a bit of education to let them [countries] know that\u201d there are solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came up with some conclusions and one is to ensure that member states are all on the same page, exchange ideas so that we can move this protocol forward,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Twum-Amoah said solutions can be found for the challenges member countries have identified: \u201cThere are ways and means that we can do it, if we all work together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kamar remains hopeful. \u201cWe realized that most of the challenges are actually the same between most of the partner countries,\u201d she said, adding that there would be the need to sell the idea to all African countries stressing the importance of ratifying the protocol.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot have an African Continental Free Trade Area without a free movement of people because people must move with their goods,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we cannot say we are going to trade freely if you are not moving. The movement of people must accompany them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: dailynews<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. THE African Union\u2019s vision for seamless movement across the continent is facing challenges. The protocol that would allow Africans to move freely across borders remains largely unratified. The African Union\u2019s Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, adopted in 2018, aims to give Africans the right to live and work anywhere within the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":59303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-59304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy don\u2019t all Africans have free movement within Africa? - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"THE African Union\u2019s vision for seamless movement across the continent is facing challenges. 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