Africa: BREXIT as a Lesson for the African Union e-Passport Project

The AU Flag

The African Union is set towards marching to an ever closer union with the prospect of launching a continent-wide electronic passport this July. According to the AU, this flagship project, first agreed upon in 2014, falls squarely within the framework of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and has the specific aim of facilitating free movement of persons, goods and services around the continent - in order to foster intra-Africa trade, integration and socio-economic development.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has described this initiative as both 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.”

Aspirations 2 and 7 of Agenda 2063, respectively, envision an Africa that is ‘integrated’ and ‘united’, and the introduction of the Common African Passport as an effort towards realising integration and unity on the continent. The first group of beneficiaries will include: AU Heads of State and Government; Ministers of Foreign Affairs; and the Permanent Representatives of AU Member States based at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Lesson to learn

Such a project is a very laudable initiative indeed as it will undoubtedly enhance intra-trade between countries in the continent. And more importantly, it will ease the travel burden between countries where at the moment, it is said to be easier for North Americans to travel within the continent than for African citizens themselves. However, in the wake of the current upheaval engulfing the European Union following Britain’s decision to leave, the African Union should closely monitor proceedings and use it as a learning curve in order to avoid a similar breakup to the organisation in the future.

As I keenly followed the BREXIT referendum campaign, I realised that the majority of voters in Britain who favoured to leave the European Union were mainly overwhelmed by the large number of European migrants in the United Kingdom. The immigration phobia is also evident in many other euro-sceptic countries raising fears that Britain might be the first to leave, but will not be the last.

This is therefore a perfect lesson for the African Union to set out clearly the exact modalities of the e-passport bearing in mind the downside of freedom of movement. However, judging by the rise in xenophobic attacks across the continent, most notably in South Africa, and recently in Zambia, I doubt whether this noble project will live to achieve its objective. Only time will tell!