Well done Rwanda on visa-free entry for all Africans

For some reason, I am among the category of Africans excited to know that Rwanda has abolished visa requirements for all Africans who wish to visit the country. 

Different news sources including africanews revealed that while attending the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council in Kigali recently, President Paul Kagame said: “Any African, can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish and they will not pay a thing to enter our country”.

Since the pronouncement, people across the continent have taken to social media platforms to express their thoughts.

Personally, I see this as a beacon of hope. This is because, I love to travel to new places.  But travelling can be expensive. 

In 2019, a friend and I travelled to Rwanda, as tourists for a weekend, and I must confess that we enjoyed our stay. 

We were mesmerised by the clean city, well-maintained roads, and disciplined motorcyclists who don’t only rigorously and obediently follow the traffic rules, but also ensure their clients wear helmets.

We also had an opportunity to visit the Kigali Convention Centre and Kigali Genocide Memorial. At the latter, I connected with a tourist from Ivory Coast, who I found out from our conversation that she was once in Uganda, loved it, and its people, and wishes to come back one day. 

I promised her that if she ever returned to Uganda, I would take her to visit the Source of the Nile. In turn, if I ever go to Ivory Coast, we shall visit some of the country’s tourist attractions.

This is what I am trying to say, when visa restrictions are removed, it becomes a bit easier and cheaper for many Africans who would like to move, explore, and experience the beauty of our continent, which is still alien to many of us, except for relying on what history tells us. 

According to data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the continent still relies on 60 percent of its tourism from outside Africa. But as President Kagame said during this summit, Africa has the potential to become a ‘unified tourism destination’. 

“We should not lose sight of our own continental market,” he said. “Africans are the future of global tourism as our middle class continues to grow at a fast pace in the decades to come,” he said

I am not the only one excited. The comments below are from Africans from different African countries who have welcomed the move positively with a few reservations. 

One: Removing visa restrictions would not only facilitate travel and trade but also foster unity and cooperation among African nations, thus leading to enhanced economic growth and development across the continent.

Two: Free movement of people and goods in Africa would be beneficial to all of Africa.

Three: It is about time all of Africa dropped the visa requirements. We can’t keep complaining that Western countries don’t let us visit without visas while we require visas to travel within our own continent. Charity begins at home.  

However, there was a reservation from someone who said that due to these visa-free initiatives, some tourists come in big numbers, but never return to their home countries. 

Rwanda becomes the latest nation in Africa to announce such a measure aimed at boosting the free movement of people and trade to rival Europe’s Schengen zone.

Other African countries with a visa-free policy are Seychelles, The Gambia, and Benin Republic.

It is a prayer of many Africans that more African countries wave off visa fees to allow free movement. 

When I posted on my WhatsApp about visa-free entry for all African citizens in Rwanda, some status viewers asked “What is Uganda waiting for?  This question can only be answered by the government!

Mr Vivian Agaba is a journalist, and consultant writer/editor