Amma Twum-Amoah has called for accelerated implementation of a visa-free Africa, warning that restrictions on movement continue to undermine the continent’s economic integration and shared prosperity.
Delivering a keynote address at the African Union (AU) Day webinar hosted by the Africa Prosperity Network on Monday (May 25), the AU commissioner said the free movement of Africans across the continent is no longer optional but essential to achieving Africa’s long-term development goals.
“The freedom of Africans to move, connect, trade, invest, study, and prosper across their own continent is no longer a distant aspiration — it is a development imperative,” she said.
Integration agenda under strain
Twum-Amoah linked the issue directly to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area, arguing that trade integration cannot succeed without mobility.
“Africa cannot fully integrate economically while Africans themselves remain restricted from moving freely across their own continent,” she said.
She noted that despite progress, significant barriers remain. Citing the Africa Visa Openness Report 2024, she said Africans still require visas to travel to nearly 45 percent of other African countries, creating obstacles for entrepreneurs, students, and professionals.
These restrictions, she warned, weaken regional value chains, limit innovation, and slow economic growth across the continent.
Call for political will and implementation
The AU adopted the Free Movement Protocol in 2018 as part of its Agenda 2063 blueprint, but Twum-Amoah acknowledged that ratification and implementation have lagged.
“Ratification alone is not enough. Implementation must follow. Declarations must become systems. Systems must deliver results,” she said.
She urged member states to accelerate ratification, strengthen border governance systems, and invest in digital tools to ensure mobility is safe, orderly, and productive.
Progress and momentum
The commissioner, however, pointed to encouraging steps by countries such as Ghana, Togo, Rwanda and Benin, which have introduced visa-free or visa-on-arrival policies for African citizens.
She described these moves as evidence that openness can drive investment, tourism, and trade rather than threaten security.
“Openness is not a risk to be feared, but an opportunity to be managed with confidence, coordination and modern systems,” she said.
Citizens at the centre
Twum-Amoah emphasised that the success of a borderless Africa will depend not only on governments but also on citizen engagement, particularly among youth, women, and cross-border traders.
“Free movement must become a people’s agenda,” she said, highlighting its role in empowering entrepreneurs, students, and innovators.
She added that partnerships between governments, the private sector, civil society, and the media would be critical to sustaining momentum.
“Borders must connect, not divide”
Framing her remarks within the broader vision of Pan-Africanism, Twum-Amoah said Africa’s colonial-era borders should not continue to limit its future.
“Borders should serve as bridges of cooperation, not barriers to opportunity,” she said.
She concluded with a call for decisive action to move from policy ambition to real outcomes.
“Let us make a borderless Africa not a slogan, but a lived reality for every African citizen.”
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