African Passport to launch this July

The African Passport/Visa has been on the African Union’s agenda since 2014 and is part of a bigger project titled Africa’s Agenda 2063.

“Our people will not have to carry a visa to gain access to other African states. There will be free trade of goods” Dr. Abdullahi said at the #Africities summit 2015.

President Jacob Zuma is currently attending African Union Summit in Rwanda where the visa will be launched and distributed amongst African leaders.

The electronic passport will allow those who qualify to have it visa-free access to all 54 AU member states, including South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria to name a few.

The African Union said it would launch the passport this month and aims to distribute the passports to all African citizens by 2018 – though this target is unlikely to be met.

Some hurdles that analysts have predicted include the fact that many African countries do not have the means or access to the biometric systems needed to register the passports.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, described the initiative as symbolic and significant, calling it a “steady step toward the objective of creating a strong, prosperous and integrated Africa, driven by its own citizens and capable of taking its rightful place on the world stage.”