AfCFTA Secretariat applauds Ghana’s visa-free for all Africans

By Newscenta On Dec 27, 2024

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s decision to implement a visa-free travel policy for citizens of all African countries.
Albert Muchanga, the AfCFTA Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry, and Minerals, described the move as a significant step toward achieving the vision of a unified African market under AfCFTA.
“This is a move in the right direction,” Muchanga stated, emphasizing that the policy eliminates a key non-tariff barrier to intra-African trade and strengthens efforts to create a single African market.

Fulfilling a presidential pledge
President Akufo-Addo first made the promise at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) in January 2024.
Addressing over 2,000 attendees, including business executives and political leaders, he vowed to implement visa-free travel for Africans before the end of his term on January 6, 2025.
“Many of you had to acquire a visa to come to this event. We made a special arrangement for this conference, reducing the visa acquisition fee by 50%.
The government of Ghana is committed to ensuring visa-free entry for all Africans,” the President declared.

On December 18, 2024, President Akufo-Addo granted executive approval for the policy, which was promptly communicated to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and the Ministry of the Interior.
The Ghana Immigration Service is expected to announce a start date, with January 1, 2025, anticipated as the launch of the initiative.

Ghana joins pioneering African Nations
By implementing this policy, Ghana will become the fifth African nation to offer visa-free entry to all African citizens, joining Rwanda, Seychelles, The Gambia, and Benin.
This development underscores Ghana’s leadership in fostering African unity and economic integration, a legacy rooted in the vision of its first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The challenges of African travel
The move addresses long-standing frustrations among African businesspeople and travelers. Nigerian industrialist and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has frequently criticized the difficulty of obtaining visas to travel within the continent.
“As an investor, I have to apply for 35 different visas. I really don’t have the time to go and drop off my passport in embassies to get a visa,” Dangote lamented at a business forum in Rwanda earlier this year.

Barriers to free movement persist
Despite progress, many African countries maintain restrictive immigration policies, with some favoring European and American travelers over their African counterparts.

A future of opportunity
Ghana’s visa-free policy aligns with the African Union’s (AU) broader agenda to promote the free movement of people, goods, and services across the continent.
It also complements AfCFTA’s mission to establish the world’s largest single market, encompassing 55 nations.
By taking this bold step, Ghana reinforces its position as a leader in African unity and integration, paving the way for a borderless continent and a prosperous future for all Africans.