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The African Union Commission (AUC) has held a four-day strategic coordination meeting to galvanise member states to ratify and implement the AU Free Movement of Persons Protocol.
The meeting, which concluded in Accra last Friday, was attended by senior government officials from 13 AU Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and key development partners to address the slow ratification of the protocol.
It aimed to achieve continental integration under Agenda 2063 and the Abuja Treaty.
The Protocol which was adopted in 2018, is to guarantee free access to African citizens to enter, reside and establish businesses in any AU Member State.
So far, only four out of the 55 Member States have ratified the Protocol, far below the 15 required for it to come into force.
The AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Ambassador Amma A. Twum-Amoah, said the meeting was a necessary push to make the protocol a reality.
She said Africa could not achieve a true African Continental Free Trade Area with restricted movement of people, goods and services.
Amb. Twum-Amoah commended the Ghanaian government for promoting Pan-Africanism and regional integration following a visit to the Akanu Border, Togo frontier and the Kotoka International Airport to observe the country’s border and immigration management systems.
“Ghana exemplifies the practical application of the protocol through its open visa policies and strong immigration systems,” she said.
A Kenyan Senator and Member of the Pan-African Parliament’s Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration, Professor Margaret Kamar, urged member states to lift visa restrictions on African citizens.
“It is illogical to promote intra-African trade without enabling the movement of people. Rwanda has shown that lifting visa restrictions can boost tourism and revenue. Our goal is to translate such examples into continental policy action,” she said.
Prof. Kamar said while AfCFTA had been ratified by 48 countries, the Free Movement Protocol lagged far behind, a contradiction that undermined the broader vision of an integrated Africa.
Assistant Commissioner of Immigration (ACI), Samuel Bilson, who represented the Ghana Immigration Service at the meeting, commended the smooth implementation of the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol, particularly on the Ghanaian side.
He said the implementation of E-gates at the Kotoka International Airport had streamlined the entry process of travellers with their passports or Ghana cards.
