“Free movement is the face of Regional Integration” says the Common Market for Eastern and southern Africa (COMESA) Director for Trade and Monetary Affairs Dr. Francis Mangeni.

Mr. Mangeni has noted that opening up boarders among African countries will not only unite the continent further, but it will also improve trade relations which will culminate into improved economic performance.

COMESA is among the organisations advocating for free movement for people in Africa through agreements such as the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) yet to come into force alongside the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), The East African Commission (EAC).

In 2016, then African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma launched the concept of the African passport. Business Tech reported that “At the opening ceremony Dlamini-Zuma also handed over the new African passport to AU chairperson, Chad president Idriss Déby.

However, the launch of the passport was mostly symbolic, and member states were tasked to go back and work out the logistics of producing these.

The defining concept surrounding the passport is to increase trade relations between African nations, where there are vast resources, but very little trade between countries.

Trade among African nations stands at only 13% according to the AU, compared to an intra-Europe trade ranging between 43% and 83%.

The passport also aims to facilitate the free movement of Africans, who the AU believes are still being separated by colonial-era borders.

The passport will give open, visa-free access to all 54 member nations of the African Union. This includes South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and many other countries.”