The African Continental Free Trade Area Secretary General has declared that eliminating travel barriers across the continent is critical to unlocking the full potential of Africa’s single market, warning that restrictive visa regimes undermine economic integration efforts.
Wamkele Mene made the assertion during a media interview on Saturday following a high level closed door meeting at the Africa Prosperity Network headquarters on the sidelines of the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogues in Accra.
The South African trade policy expert emphasised that the vision of a borderless Africa must transition from aspiration to urgent continental necessity if the AfCFTA is to deliver meaningful economic transformation.
“Borderless Africa is essential to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” Mene stated, arguing that trade liberalisation cannot succeed in isolation from the free movement of people.
He pointed to the African Union Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons as a key legal instrument already in place to support seamless mobility across Africa, but expressed deep regret that only four out of 55 African Union member states have ratified the protocol.
“I regret that protocol has been ratified by only four countries out of 55, meaning that there’s a lot of work that has to be done to ensure that free movement of persons becomes a reality,” the Secretary General said.
Despite the slow pace of ratification, Mene commended countries that have taken independent steps to promote visa openness and facilitate intra African travel.
He cited Ghana’s visa on arrival policy for all Africans, alongside similar initiatives by Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya, as examples of bold national actions advancing the borderless Africa agenda.
“These are some of the countries that have on their own accord taken significant steps to ensure free movement of persons,” he noted, while acknowledging that several other countries remain far behind in implementing such reforms.
Mene described it as deeply troubling that Africans still face restrictive visa regimes within their own continent, arguing that such limitations undermine AfCFTA objectives and constrain economic opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs and workers.
“It is a matter of regret that Africans cannot travel up to 90 percent of Africa without a visa,” he said, calling for urgent reforms to reverse the trend.
He stressed that achieving meaningful progress will require stronger political commitment from African leaders and greater engagement at the level of heads of state through the African Union framework.
The Secretary General also met with a Gabonese delegation led by the country’s Vice President, highlighting the immense opportunities available to Gabon under Africa’s single market of 1.4 billion people.
Mene said Gabon’s new government is determined to pursue market diversification and deeper economic engagement across the continent through the AfCFTA.
“How Gabon can benefit from the AfCFTA is through this very significant market of 1.4 billion people. Gabon has just completed a transition, and the new government is very determined to have an economic reform agenda. At the heart of that agenda, what I understood from the Vice President, is market diversification, leveraging on the AfCFTA,” he stated.
He expressed satisfaction that Gabon is re engaging with the African Union and reclaiming its leadership role within Central Africa following its political transition.
On the long term ambition of a common African currency, Mene acknowledged that achieving this goal will require macroeconomic convergence and other foundational building blocks that are not yet fully in place.
“A common currency is a long term vision. It will require considerable effort and planning,” he explained, adding that the continent is not yet at that stage.
However, he suggested that Africa could explore innovative pathways through digital instruments and emerging financial technologies that may advance the continent toward monetary integration without requiring immediate macroeconomic alignment.
“In the advancements of the digital economy, there are other instruments that we can look at which can enable us to move much faster,” Mene said, referencing the potential of digital currencies and broader innovations in financial systems.
He urged African leaders to think creatively about what monetary integration could look like in the context of rapid technological change, while learning from economic challenges faced by some European countries when macroeconomic convergence was not fully achieved prior to adopting a common currency.
The closed door engagement involved a delegation of four representatives from the AfCFTA Secretariat alongside four officials from Gabon.
The Africa Prosperity Dialogues, held from February 4 to 6 under the theme “Empowering SMEs, Women and Youth in Africa’s Single Market: Innovate, Collaborate, Trade,” convened heads of state, policymakers, private sector leaders and investors.
The forum was hosted by President John Dramani Mahama in partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the Africa Prosperity Network.
Mene’s remarks come as the AfCFTA continues implementation efforts since trading began in October 2022, with 46 tariff offers on trade in goods verified and 48 member states having submitted initial trade in services offers.
Rules of Origin negotiations are 92 percent complete, defining what qualifies as an African product, according to recent data presented at international forums.
The Secretary General has consistently emphasised that without bold leadership on mobility, Africa’s single market risks remaining a paper framework rather than a fully functioning economic space capable of competing globally.
