Free movementof people under the spotlight

The African Continental Free Trade Area cannot reach its potential without allowing the free movement of people, said Stephen Karingi, Director of the ECA’s Regional Integration and Trade Division in his presentation to ECA delegates.

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This article was produced with the support of UN ECA

His comment followed remarks in the opening about the apparent lack of appetite for ratifying the Protocol on the Movement of Persons and the Right of Residence and Establishment. 

Antonio Pedro, Deputy Executive Secretary (Programme Support), said that since the African Union adopted the revised protocol in 2018, only 4 African countries had ratified the agreement – Rwanda, Mali, Sao Tome and Principe and Niger.

The most recent had been Niger, which ratified it in 2019. In the six years since, nothing further had happened. “This is not acceptable,” he said.

“The ease with which Africans can move across borders within the continent plays an important role in realizing the benefits of the AfCFTA to the full.”

“With compelling evidence-based analysis, we must dispel the fears that are impeding us from acting.”  

Some believed there needed to be a detailed discussion about why countries were not ratifying the protocol.