Published on : Wednesday, January 9, 2019
“In February 2019, in Addis Ababa, at the 32nd Summit of our Union, the Commission will present, for adoption, guidelines on the design, production and issuance of the African passport, the materialization of which will take us one step closer to the long-held dream of complete free movement across the continent,” said Mahama in his New Year message to the continent.
The Pan-African passport was introduced in July 2016, at the opening ceremony of the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU, in Kigali, with the main purpose to ease the free movement of Africans within the continent.
The President of Chad and then Chairperson of the AU, Idriss Deby Itno, and President of Rwanda Paul Kagame received the first passports from the then Chairperson of the AU Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
The passport has nevertheless remained the privilege of heads of government, along with the diplomats much to the disappointment of many African citizens.
The launch of the African passport was anticipated to bring greater number of migration of Africans within Africa, and pave the way for the AU’s 2063 Agenda for “a continent with seamless borders” to help to ease free movement of African citizens.
Nevertheless, the recent news from the Chairperson of the AU Commission is encouraging and mentions about a specific time, location and occasion where the details for adoption, guidelines on the design, production and issuance of the African passport will be brought to the forefront