A South African passport, an official document used to apply for a visa. The writer says at the very least, we should be pursuing visa-free travel for Africans, harmonised immigration systems, more direct flight routes and affordable regional air travel.
IF one of Africa's poorest countries can make it easier for Africans to enter its borders, then what excuse does the rest of the continent have?
We seldom think about the fact it’s easier to travel across Europe than it is to travel across Africa. However, Chad's decision to grant visa-free entry to all African citizens from 2027 is more than an immigration policy. It is a direct challenge to every African government that continues to preach Pan-Africanism while governing as though Africa ends at its own border.
For a continent that speaks so confidently about unity, we have become remarkably comfortable with division.
Every year, African leaders gather beneath the banner of the African Union to declare their commitment to integration. They speak of Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area, regional cooperation and "the Africa We Want". Yet when the summit ends and the cameras leave, the ordinary African is reminded that these grand ambitions rarely survive the airport terminal.
