ADB seeks abolition of visa requirement among African states

The Chief Economist of the African Development Bank, ADB, Mr Mthuli Ncube, has called for the abolition of visa requirement for travels between African countries.
Ncube, who made the call in Johannesburg at the Infrastructure Africa Conference, said that free visas requirement within African states would promote the movement of people.
He said such a policy would in turn improve intra-investment opportunities that would fast-track regional integration.
“I am certain that we can make progress on regional integration. It is very important. Regional integration has three pillars, movement of people, movement of capital and trade in goods and services.
“There is more to be gained in the movement of people and in intra-African investment, like the MTN investment in the rest of Africa, Equity Bank investing in other parts of East Africa,” Ncube said.
He said African continent’s economy is projected to grow by 4.8 per cent in 2013 and 5.3 per cent in 2014.
“But that could improve if countries enhance the management of their mineral resources,’’ he said.
He said the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, remains the fastest growing economic grouping on the continent.
According to him, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana are amongst the countries with the highest Gross Domestic Product, GDP growth for 2013 and 2014.
Ncube said regional integration, in terms of infrastructure investment and maximising revenue from mineral resources, was the best way for Africa’s economies to improve growth.
He, however, expressed satisfaction on the growth recorded by the sub-Saharan Africa, in spite of being amongst the economies that record slower growth compared to other regions.
“There is a lot more to be gained in terms of the movement of people and investment. There are some long-term challenges, and the first one is infrastructure investment. As a bank, 60 per cent of our portfolio focuses on infrastructure investment.
“That alone could help the region to grow by 3 per cent more and reduce the trade deficit gap,’’ he said.
Ncube also said promoting the private sector to encourage entrepreneurship was key to reducing inequalities.
He said the African continent also needed to ensure that it introduces better tax systems on mineral resources to avoid losing mining royalties through illicit transfers.