To one’s wonder, there are member states who highly regard entering in to such pacts with countries outside of the continent and at times being deadly sure that such pacts will not be enforced; whereas, there are neighboring countries which could share a lot of treasured information while guaranteeing actual implementation will get deafening silence, writes Abdulkadir Mohammed.
The African Union deserves admiration for launching its ambitious Agenda 2063 and above all the move towards devising the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan for its execution; as its attainment or failure will leave a grand milestone either way for the rest of the decades to go. The implementation plan will assist member states meritoriously integrate the agenda to their respective jurisdictions through programs referred as ‘flagship projects’; The Pan African Integrated High Speed Train Network, Silencing the Guns by 2020, Single African Aviation Market, Great Inga Dam and the Push for Renewable Energy are among a few. These projects will ease the continents progress for the aspired integration. One among the flagship projects is establishing a protocol pertaining to free movement of persons and the African passport; which in fact will be the core of this article.
As to impetus of the protocol, the commission conversed to stakeholders that its intent is to put in place a continent-wide common arrangement that would guarantee free access to citizens of member states across the continent. The scope will only be limited to facilitating unrestricted entrée of African citizens to all African countries. The commission noted that the protocol concerning free movement of persons will be much taken care of for it not to be detrimental to all other pertinent domestic, regional, and international laws, in particular those relating to establishment, access to labor market, trade, customs, and other national regulations. This would serve as a tremendous leap towards the sought integration though there shall be further matrixes calling for due introspection.
At the outset, the very terminology of the commission’s umbrella program i.e. “Agenda 2063; the Africa We Want” has drawn a fault line as it neglects the Africa we have right now by way of taking it subliminally if not dodged it altogether. It is realistic that for all its misfortunes and opportunities, Africa cannot find solution in the past, rather shall dwell in its present and future. Yet, it does not mean it shall overlook what appears to be a scar not healed or simply deferred for tomorrow as it would be a latent booby trap. In order to rectify such snags, the continent shall deal them overtly and on a certain time. Or else the long overdue clamor for lack of political will from the continent’s political elite will be surpassed as a meager cliché.
Strength of the protocol
Alluding to travel documents: the commission in order to preserve the legitimacy of states sovereignty has proposed biometric identification documents to be used and stay to be dispensed at the national level which will in turn pave the way for the final target i.e. the stage of an African Passport. This option and the sequencing it entails require harmonizing technical standards such as biometric, security and identity features. Later, member states through their immigration and security apparatuses would settle upon co-ordinated security and identity features as well as technical standards of the biometric identification documents, coupled with effective and timely information exchange across countries will secure a safe and convenient movement of persons as it enables member states to track down suspicious individuals and related activities.
The protocol’s emphasis on preventing illegal migration is an area which needs praise as the issue unfolded egregiously in an intercontinental gauge. As a result, establishing a system of free movement of persons can be efficient to limit or even get rid of irregular migration flows within and from Africa as it would culminate illegal and perilous exodus. Likewise, as illegal migrations dwindle, it will also reduce the encumbrance of border while taming African integration through a more inclusive border management system.
Hereunder, the article touches upon matrixes which needs pre-eminent consideration in order to put in place an effective free movement of people and the African passport venture.
Distrust amongst member states
Several states in Africa lack mutual trust amid themselves due to erstwhile historical legacies and/or the presence of an ongoing animosity to date. Inter alia, the issues of mutual suspicion are predominantly echoed in prevailing absence of preparedness to enter into and implement cooperation frameworks for an intelligence sharing pacts even in those regions where terrorism has got a hot bed. To one’s wonder, there are member states who highly regard entering in to such pacts with countries outside of the continent and at times being deadly sure that such pacts will not be enforced; whereas, there are neighboring countries which could share a lot of treasured information while guaranteeing actual implementation will get deafening silence. Such acts could be curbed by engaging in a series of reconciliation and healing programs for those who were at encounter yet doing the same for countries which are in an active disagreement in addition to arranging platforms for a signing of cessation of hostilities in parallel with incessant dialogue.
Patronage spotlighted nations
There are nations where the very edifice of government cuddles neopatrimonialism i.e. political leaders adopting the outward forms of modern states-with bureaucracies, legal systems, elections and the like-and yet in reality rule for private gain. Public good may be invoked by these leaders during election campaigns, but the state is not impersonal; favors are doled out to networks of political supporters in exchange for votes or attendance at rallies. This is mainly exacerbated by lack of vibrant civic community that could defy the very system.
It is not at first glance obvious that social distrust should be related to the phenomena of clientèlism and low-quality bureaucracy, but it is: strong, effective governments produce social trust and is in turn facilitated by the existence of trust. Both trust and strong government were lacking in many African states as it is for the historical absence of a strong, impersonal state and a rule of law. Even worse, feeding these social and political cleavages is the fact that the state has seldom been seen as the protector of an abstract public interest, disparate to most states outside of the continent. Quietly, it is seen as an asset to be grabbed and exploited for narrow partisan or even familial benefit. In countries where an interplay of deep distrust and cynicism surfaces, it would serve as an important input weakening public administration which in turn escalate the problem.
In such regimes, government reorganization is compulsory as it remains to be the main pushing factor behind citizens fleeing their motherland. This could be done by providing capacity building programs to the standing bureaucracy, periodical submission of state deeds to peer review mechanisms both domestically and to other sub-regional or continental arrangements, guaranteeing all-inclusive public participation and on top of everything; espousing meritocratic civil service and offering support for the ever increasing involvement of the private sector will be a plus.
Immigration sector reform
The other subject which requires an in-depth study from the aspired protocol is visa upon arrival. How equipped are African immigration officials and the availability of ample booths to serve voluminous clients at a time matters utmost. Let alone in the course of stiff times where the resultant endorsement of free movement of people in the continent brings a lots of migrants at our doorstep, how greatly are we fulfilled by the contemporary service delivered by African immigration and security institutions? at times it appears as though they would enjoy by crafting annoyance to clients or they fancy using such a tactic. How competent are our immigration and security officers both emotionally and technically when they endeavor to serve many people at a time which entails precision as well as urgency under such taut settings? If not, terrorists, traffickers and the like could easily get their way through the system as it may not be thorough for the bulk quantities of customers. Moreover, how well African states remunerate employees of the security and immigration apparatus shall not be underrated as it counts a lot since lack of incentives bring them to sabotage the very system they are entrusted to reserve intact. One might think this is insane but think of the overall continent’s performance in global corruption index and some specific countries.
Mind-set change
Conferring to Francis Fukuyama, natural human sociability is built around two phenomena: kin selection and reciprocal altruism. While considering this, it is commonsense to enquire whether there is holistic contemplation that Africa is for Africans and the continent could be taken as a place for the common brethren sustenance as per the conception of kin selection? What have we done to build common understanding that Africa could freely be enjoyed by Africans irrespective of citizenship and frontier? How many of the countries inculcate studies in their scholastic curriculum to this effect?
It is vital to recollect what had occurred in the self-proclaimed democratized republic in Africa. We recognize what had ensued to our African brothers and sisters the least being stabbed and burnt alive at broad daylight. Having grasped that, do you think that people dare to ponder going there let alone anticipate that the republic will let additional foreigners to that land? What exactly had the African union done except condoning the callous act? had that country brought those perpetrators to justice with immediate effect or the usual deferment which is typical of the continent?!
This is not an endemic problem of specific countries as there are also many underdog incidents which escape unspotted. Indeed, the main problem is mind-set and the continent shall highly invest itself on it.
It is also worth considering the contemporary eminence of member states. when we look at countries from multiple parameters be it economic, political or social system, select few are better off and there are also the poorest of the poor. In such cases people tend to flock to this few countries and this would result in mass exodus. Whatsoever better off an African nation be, it is still struggling for the betterment of its citizens. While making a progress in that field, presence of superfluous African citizens will be perceived as a threat let alone by the people but also by the government in power. Thus, the resolution to allow free movement of people in the continent should not exclusively rest upon the will of the political elites, but shall take into consideration the plebeian citizens and their innate mind-set from the grassroots.
Capability to manage territorial integrity
There is conflict ridden Africa with non-demarcated or at times disputed borders, cross country resemblance of ethnic groups which warrants trans-boundary alliance to each other’s advantage or up against the interest of other ethnicity, political malice mainly mirrored in frequent accusation of states against one another for sponsoring hostile groups mostly armed ones so that they infiltrate neighboring countries and engage in subversive activities. In addition, even the country’s ability to effectively manage its borders are the scorching questions which demands speedy reaction as many of them give the response that their border is porous to control the whole part. There were also perpetual hostilities among member states especially those sharing common border yet less had been done to curb such hostilities. The ongoing Rwanda- Burundi counter allegation could be cited as the best incarnate example.
Sovereignty vs. legislative harmony
The other issue dealt by the aspired free movement protocol is related to issuance of residence permits and right to establishment in the host state. The commission stated that this will remain under national jurisdiction hence need not be part of the continental free movement protocol. There is an impasse at this juncture! If the commission rests the liberty upon each member state to decide on the matter, it lacks harmonized legislations and procedures which at some countries the implementation might be stringent and time consuming while others could only serve; modestly. If the case is so, the very system would be susceptible for bureaucratic misappropriations and blatant red tapes. On the other hand, if the commission attempt to enact something outward under the pretext of harmonization, as discerned by onlookers, African leaders are so tough in sensitizing the issue of sovereignty which they mostly define in the narrow sense and repel to the scheme citing the thin veil.
Asylum regime
While reiterating the asylum regime, the commission noted that no provision in the protocol shall be prejudicial to the applicable asylum management. Apparently, the ‘Africa rising’ adage holds true for very few countries and even them: are on the practice of accommodating the very survival of their nation and populations at large. There would be glaring number of asylum seekers which would spread over as lack of good governance and disenfranchisement based on ethnic and social strata increases in many jurisdictions. This will get even worse given the apparent lack of appetite by the international community and donor partners to support asylum seekers in host countries. How are African countries going to respond to such happenings? they may suspend or fully withdraw from the free movement protocol which indeed is essential nevertheless could prove itself futile if done without careful scrutiny and its backdrop might be raised by other member states which would stand as an adverse precedent.
Misconception from the commission
There is a misconception in the commission that it takes every member state as equals in terms of enforcing its decisions. There are countries which administer pompously beyond their boundaries under the pretext of RECs and there are also states which did not leave the primordial eras and barely know let alone to administer their borders; due to financial constraints, lack of technical capabilities, lack of institutions with efficient bureaucracy and so forth. In such countries, capacity building is a must and without it, an inch progress will not be gotten whatsoever ambitious plan devised.
In summary, if the commission have to formulate the free movement of persons’ protocol, it shall primarily deal with the above mentioned points one by one and foremost, it shall exert itself on continental mind-set awareness creation concerning the free movement of people than investing millions of dollars to prove oneself futile in a hustle. Hence, it is indispensable to take the Ghanaian recommendation to make pilot project by allowing free access to business personnel for a 30-day visa waiver assessment pattern and draw lessons from it than purely impose what it seems sky diving for the commission as well as member states.
Ed.’s Note: Abdulkadir Mohammed is a policy researcher on matters associated to Regional Peace and security trends. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
