Africa may soon have a single/ unified passport to ease travelling within the continent.
The single passport to be used by the 55 countries on the African continent is expected to be of immense benefit to travellers, promote African identity and social integration.
Reliable sources said the roll-out of the African Union (AU) passport which was slated for July, last year , was postponed due to the ravaging effect of the coronavirus pandemic.
The single passport is also expected to be a crucial element for the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which allows for the free movement of people and goods across the African continent.
The idea for a single passport for countries in the AU was floated in 2016. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) officially came into effect in July 2019, but the launch of a single passport for the continent was delayed.
AfCFTA will unite the continent’s 1.3-billion people in a single economic bloc valued at $3.4-trillion (R51.8-trillion). The initiative will create a single market for goods and services, as well as a customs union that facilitates the movement of people, money and goods across the continent.
Other advantages of the single common-area initiative include an enhanced intra-Africa trade, commerce and tourism and facilitating labour mobility.
………Courtesy Agency Reports