President William Ruto of Kenya has announced that the country will end visa requirements for all African visitors by the end of the year.
In his remarks at a climate change conference in Congo-Brazzaville, Ruto emphasized the importance of free movement for business and economic growth, stating “If people can’t travel, entrepreneurs can’t travel, we all become net losers.”
He said, “By the end of this year, no African will be required to have a visa to come to Kenya.”
For African passport holders, expensive and time-consuming visa requirements, as well as high air fares, have been major barriers to inter-African travel.
In fact, 32 out of 54 African countries still require nationals of at least half of the countries on the continent to obtain a visa.
“Our children from this continent should not be locked in borders in Europe and also be locked in borders in Africa,” Ruto said.
Kenya will be the fourth African country to make the change and offer unrestricted travel to Africans, after the Gambia, Benin and Seychelles. Seychelles, an east African island nation that relies heavily on tourism, was the first to do so in 2016.
Ruto said the removal of barriers was necessary to facilitate the implementation of the African continental free trade area.
“It is time we realise the importance of trading among ourselves and allowing goods, services, people and ideas to move freely across the continent,” he said.
The African Union has been advocating for the removal of travel barriers between African countries in recent years. In 2016, the AU launched the “AU passport,” a document that allows Africans to travel freely within the continent.
However, the use of the passport has been limited to diplomats and high-ranking officials, and its implementation has been slow.
