The
Pan African Travel Association, TheTeamAfrica, has commended the efforts of the
African Union (AU) leadership to bring about seamless travels within Africa for
Africans.
The
AU leaders launched a new African Passport at its annual General Assembly in
Kigali for Diplomats as a way of bringing to the fore the issue of free and
easy movement within the continent.
For
members of TeamAfrica who discussed the issue exhaustively, it was agreed that
the launch of the AU document is noteworthy but symbolic as it has no real
value as at now.
They
pointed out the difficulty of implementing the Yammousokro Decision to open
African skies for aviation which has not been implemented since 1999.
According
to the AU chairperson Dlamina Zuma, this delay in implementing an AU decision
since 2003 has cost Africa 40 per cent market share in aviation on the
continent.
So
the implementation of the African Passport may face similar difficulties.
TeamAfrica
argues that immediate implementation of ‘Visa on Arrival’ for all Africans is
easier to implement and adopt. Ghana
recently joined Rwanda and Seychelles in implementing visa on Arrival for all
Africans and it has taken off successfully.
The
Team recommends this route as a faster way of integrating Africa while
discussions on the modality of how implementation of the AU Passport is being
worked out between nations.
ECOWAS
region was the first to launch free movement protocol among the 15 countries
with little or no negative impact despite the huge population within the
region.
Recently,
regional blocs in the East and South of Africa have all implemented free
movement protocol for regional citizens with no negative fallout.
Some
regions have even implemented Joint visa for the regions like the EAC tourism
Visa for 3 countries in East Africa.
The
next linkage may be free movement protocol between the regions. ECOWAS and the
EAC group can sign an MOU and bring this about long before the targeted date of
2018 for AU Passport launch for citizens.
Visa
fees is another issue of interest in Africa. As Uganda drops visa fees from
$100 to $50 which is commendable, some Africans still pay close to $200 for
visas within Africa and TeamAfrica believes that the AU should assist members
to establish a uniform fee for visas for African travelers.
TeamAfrica
is an association for players in Travel and Tourism business in Africa. Its major role is to encourage travel within
Africa for Africans as most Africans do not travel much within the continent.
The
Team aims to grow travel within Africa by jointly promoting events within
Africa and pressure governments to adopt policies that encourage intra-African
travels.
It
was formed in Kigali, Rwanda, last year and has since grown to include
practitioners from over 15 countries.
Its landmark project is the expected launch of the search for the 21
wonders of Africa.
