Statement by H.E. Amb. Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah

Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and

Social Development

Africa Prosperity Network Webinar Series on Borderless Africa

Theme: Advancing a Visa-Free Africa for Africans to Move, Connect and Trade Freely

African Union Day – 25 May 2026

 

YOUR EXCELLENCY, NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA, CHAIRPERSON, APN ADVISORY BOARD AND FORMER CHAIRPERSON AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION,

 

MR. GABBY ASARE OTCHERE-DARKO, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER OF THE AFRICA PROSPERITY NETWORK,

MY DEAR SISTER JOY, DIRECTOR, AFDB REGIONAL INTEGRATION COORDINATION OFFICE
 

DISTINGUISHED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR, CIVIL SOCIETY, ACADEMIA, YOUTH NETWORKS AND DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS,

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

 

It is both an honour and a privilege for me to join you on this significant occasion of Africa Day, to for this timely and important webinar convened under the theme: “Advancing a Visa-Free Africa for Africans to Move, Connect and Trade Freely.”

 

At the outset, allow me to sincerely commend the Africa Prosperity Network and the “Make Africa Borderless Now” campaign for bringing renewed visibility, urgency and citizen energy to one of the most strategic pillars of Africa’s integration agenda. I also wish to acknowledge the presence and valuable contributions of all distinguished speakers and participants who continue to champion the cause of African unity, shared prosperity and continental integration.

 

Today’s conversation is both symbolic and practical. It is symbolic because Africa Day reminds us of the unfinished work of Pan-Africanism. It is practical because the freedom of Africans to move, connect and trade across their own continent is no longer a distant aspiration; it is a development imperative. 

 

This conversation speaks directly to the aspirations of Agenda 2063 — The Africa We Want — an Africa that is integrated, prosperous, peaceful, people-centred and driven by its own citizens.

 

As we commemorate Africa Day, we are reminded of the enduring vision of the founders of Pan-Africanism who believed that Africa’s political and economic future could only be secured through unity, solidarity and integration.

 

More than six decades ago, Kwame Nkrumah declared:

 

“The forces that unite us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed influences that keep us apart.”

 

He also reminded us that Africa’s destiny lies not in division, but in collective purpose and continental confidence.

 

These words remain profoundly relevant today.

 

Indeed, the vision of a borderless Africa is not new. It is deeply rooted in the Pan-African conviction that African borders should serve as bridges of cooperation, not barriers to opportunity; as channels of exchange, not walls of exclusion; and as instruments of integration, not obstacles to Africa’s shared prosperity.

 

Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

The issue of free movement is not merely about easing travel requirements. It is fundamentally about advancing Africa’s economic transformation and strengthening our collective prosperity.

 

Free movement is directly linked to:

 

• the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA);
• increased intra-African trade and investment;
• labour mobility and skills transfer;
• tourism development;
• innovation and entrepreneurship;
• educational, scientific and cultural exchange; and
• stronger people-to-people connectivity across the continent.

 

Simply put, Africa cannot fully integrate economically while Africans themselves remain restricted from moving freely across their own continent. Goods cannot move efficiently when people cannot. Markets cannot expand when entrepreneurs are constrained. The AfCFTA cannot reach its full transformative promise if the African citizen, the trader, the student, the innovator, the artist and the investor remain delayed at the border.

 

Despite notable progress over the years, barriers to mobility continue to impede the realisation of our continental ambitions. According to the Africa Visa Openness Report 2024, African citizens still require visas to travel to nearly 45 percent of other African countries. Only a limited percentage of travel routes across the continent are fully visa-free.

 

The consequences of these restrictions are far-reaching. For many African entrepreneurs and traders, especially women engaged in informal cross-border trade, obtaining visas can be costly, time-consuming, and administratively burdensome. For students and researchers, mobility barriers limit academic exchange and innovation. For young professionals and investors, restrictions reduce opportunities for employment, partnerships, enterprise growth and market expansion.

 

These realities ultimately weaken regional value chains, constrain economic growth, and discourage continental competitiveness and slow implementation of the AfCFTA.

 

As Julius Nyerere once observed:

“Unity will not make us rich, but it can make it difficult for Africa and the African peoples to be disregarded and humiliated.”

 

Excellencies,

The African Union recognised these realities when it adopted the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment in 2018, as one of the flagship initiatives of Agenda 2063.

 

The Protocol provides a transformative continental framework aimed at facilitating:

• visa-free entry for African citizens;
• the right of residence
• the right of establishment;
• enhanced labour mobility;
• regional economic integration;
• mutual recognition of qualifications;
• stronger social and cultural exchange; and
• orderly, safe and well governed mobility across the continent.

 

In its own language, the Protocol envisages that the free movement of persons, capital, goods and services will promote integration and Pan-Africanism; enhance science, technology, education and research; foster tourism; facilitate intra-African trade and investment; increase remittances within Africa; promote labour mobility; create employment; improve the standards of living of African peoples; and support the mobilization and utilization of Africa’s human and material resources for self-reliance and development.

 

This is a powerful vision. It is also a practical roadmap.

 

However, while the vision is clear, implementation has not progressed at the pace initially envisaged. Ratification remains limited, and the Protocol has not yet entered into force. This underscores the need for renewed political commitment, enhanced public awareness, stronger advocacy and sustained collaboration among Member States and stakeholders.

 

At the same time, we must acknowledge and celebrate the progress already being made across various parts of the continent. Several Member States have demonstrated continental leadership by easing entry requirements for African citizens, introducing visa-on-arrival arrangements, or adopting visa-free regimes that promote openness as a catalyst for investment, tourism, trade and people-to-people exchange.

 

Rwanda, Benin, The Gambia, Ghana and Togo, among others, continue to demonstrate that openness is not a risk to be feared, but an opportunity to be managed with confidence, coordination and modern systems.

 

Within the Economic Community of West African States, citizens have long benefited from regional free movement arrangements that facilitate trade, labour mobility and social interaction across Member States. Similarly, the East African Community has advanced regional mobility through common travel arrangements and regional integration initiatives that continue to strengthen cross-border cooperation.

 

These examples clearly demonstrate that progress is achievable where there is political will, institutional coordination, regional cooperation and citizen support.

 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

As we move forward, allow me to emphasise four key priorities.

 

First, we must accelerate ratification and domestication of the AU Free Movement Protocol. Continental commitments must be translated into national laws, policies and implementation frameworks that produce tangible benefits for African citizens. Ratification alone is not sufficient; implementation must follow. Declarations must become systems, and systems must deliver results.

 

Second, we must strengthen trust, cooperation and coordination on border governance, migration management and security. Free movement and security should not be viewed as contradictory objectives. On the contrary, well-managed mobility, supported by modern technology, information-sharing, biometric systems, interoperable data, coordinated border management and respect for national laws, can strengthen both security and economic integration.

 

Third, we must deepen public awareness and citizen engagement. The success of Africa’s integration agenda depends not only on governments, but also on the active participation of African citizens — particularly youth, women, entrepreneurs, academics, artists, innovators and cross-border traders. Citizens must understand that free movement is not merely a political aspiration.  It is a practical tool for economic empowerment, social connection and shared prosperity.

 

Fourth, partnerships will remain essential. Governments alone cannot achieve this vision. Strong partnerships among Regional Economic Communities, the private sector, civil society organisations, development partners, academia, the media and citizen-led movements are indispensable for advancing advocacy, implementation and public support.

 

In this regard, the “Make Africa Borderless Now” campaign represents an important platform for mobilising continental awareness and citizen-driven advocacy. It reminds us that integration is not only negotiated in conference rooms; it is lived by traders at border posts, students crossing for education, families divided by colonial boundaries, entrepreneurs seeking markets, artists sharing culture and young Africans determined to build a future without artificial limitations.

 

As Nelson Mandela reminded us:

“It always seems impossible until it is done.”

 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

A visa-free Africa is both achievable and necessary.

It is necessary for unlocking Africa’s economic potential.

It is necessary for advancing continental integration.

It is necessary for empowering Africa’s youth, women and entrepreneurs.

It is necessary for strengthening the AfCFTA.

And it is necessary for realising the promise of Agenda 2063.

 

To build the Africa We Want, we must build an Africa where borders connect rather than divide; where Africans can travel with dignity across their own continent; where mobility is safe, orderly and productive; and where movement becomes a driver of prosperity, innovation, solidarity and peace.

 

Kwame Nkrumah’s enduring call still speaks to us today:

 

“We face neither East nor West; we face forward.”

 

Facing forward today means moving decisively from aspiration to implementation, from declarations to measurable progress, and from fragmented approaches to coordinated continental action.

Facing forward means recognizing that the African passport must not only be a document of identity, but a symbol of belonging.

Facing forward means ensuring that the young African innovator, the woman cross-border trader, the student, the researcher, the investor, the artist and the entrepreneur can see the continent not as a collection of obstacles, but as a common space of opportunity.

 

Together, let us build an Africa where Africans can move freely, connect freely, trade freely and prosper together.

 

Let us make our borders instruments of cooperation.

Let us make mobility a pathway to dignity.

And let us make a borderless Africa not a slogan, but a lived reality for every African citizen

 

I thank you for your kind attention and wish all of us fruitful deliberations.