Remove barriers preventing Africa’s integration

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OPINION

By Benjamin Agaba

Dear African Presidents,

Since European colonial powers divided Africa and imposed arbitrary borders, certain groups, such as the Tuareg—nomadic Berber-speaking people of the Sahara—have consistently rebelled against these artificial boundaries, particularly in Mauritania, Algeria, Mali, and Niger. The Tuareg reject these imaginary borders, which vanish into the harsh desert dunes, and continuously challenge them. They do not recognise political states or boundaries; instead, they believe that they belong to the land, which, like air, has no borders or barriers.

According to the European Commission website, a Schengen visa is an entry permit for non-EU nationals to make short, temporary visits of up to 90 days within any of the 180 days to countries in the Schengen area, which includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

Schengen visas are available in three types: single-entry visa—permitting a single entry into the Schengen area; multiple-entry visa—allowing several visits for the visa’s validity period; and an airport transit visa—enabling travel through the international transit area of an airport within the Schengen zone during a stopover or flight change, without leaving the transit zone.

From the Uganda Ministry of Internal Affairs website, the East African Tourist Visa is a joint visa allowing travellers to visit Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda only. It can be used multiple times for tourism, but prohibits employment. The visa is valid for 90 days and cannot be renewed upon expiry or upon exit. It is important to recall that East Africa comprises eight Partner States: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. However, the unified visa that links us as East Africans is valid only in the three countries mentioned earlier. Shame, right? Yes!

It is quite sad that Ugandans travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan—immediate neighbours to the west and north, respectively—must pay visa fees ranging from $50 to $100. However, in 2023, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development announced that DRC had removed visa fees for Ugandan visitors to promote free movement of goods and people, whose practicality I dispute.

It is even more absurd that Africans travelling to South Sudan with African passports must meet all visa requirements and pay a visa fee of close to $100. Similarly, many African countries impose visa fees on fellow Africans, unlike Rwanda, which issues visas free of charge to nationals or residents from countries with mutual visa waiver arrangements—such as the African Union, Commonwealth, and La Francophonie—who enter for any purpose other than employment. Countries like Benin, The Gambia, Seychelles and Burkina Faso also offer visa-free access to all African visitors.

An even more unfortunate scenario involves a Senegalese traveller from Kaolack, a major regional market town and Senegal's main peanut trading hub, who must wait more than six hours to cross through the border of The Gambia —another African nation—to reach Ziguinchor, a river port town in southwestern Senegal along the Casamance River. Such experiences are common for Africans crossing borders within the continent. In contrast, accessing over 20 countries within the Schengen Area or all 50 states of the United States of America requires only one visa.

As Africans, we will continue to face greater hurdles in moving goods and services until we realise the goals of Aspiration 2 of Agenda 2063, which envisions “An integrated continent, politically united and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance,” and Aspiration 5, which aims for “An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, shared values and ethics.” Achieving these aspirations—the vision of Africans seeing themselves as one people—necessitates removing the physical and invisible barriers preventing our continent's integration.

The writer is from Ntungamo Municipality