‘You Can Now Come To Our Country Visa-Free’

If you are African and desire to travel visa-free to one of its frontline countries, Ghana, then the coast is clear for you.

This is the word from President Nana Akufo-Addo and the incentive is commencing this year.

He made the announcement today, during his final State of the Nation address, saying the incentive is in support efforts towards continental economic integration in Africa.

“I am proud to have approved visa-free travel to Ghana for all African passport holders, with effect from the beginning of this year,” Akufo-Addo said in his speech to parliament.

“This is the logical next step to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the workings of the largest trading bloc in the world,” he said.

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s“All these are essential elements to the realisation of the AU’s Agenda 2063, which envisages an integrated and connected Africa by 2063,” he added, referring to the African Union’s development blueprint for a 50-year period.

Akufo-Addo is rounding off a two-term tenure and prepares to step down on January 6.

The Eagle reports that President Akufo-Addo, had, during Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) held in January 2024 in Accra underscored the imperatives of unrestricted movement within the subregion for economic reasons.

Speaking under the theme “Developing Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add Value, and Trade,” he had stated that his country would introduce a visa-free travel policy for African citizens in the spirit of the  African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ghana’s move would increase to five, the number of African countries which have implemented a visa-free entry policy within the continent.

Rwanda, The Gambia, Benin and Seychelles being the other countries that have similar initiatives.

Ghana’s visa-free entry policy is expected to leave positive impact in both labour demands and a boost in tourism.

Data from Ghana’s Ministry of Finance says for the first three quarters of 2024, the country recorded an impressive average real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 6.3%, a significant leap from the 2.6% recorded during the same period in 2023.

“This growth was fueled by quarterly expansions of 4.8% in Q1, 7.0% in Q2, and an outstanding 7.2% in Q3—the highest quarterly GDP growth in the last five years”, it says, adding that the non-oil sector has been equally robust, posting an average growth rate of 6.2% for the first three quarters of 2024.

It was 2.6% in the same period last year, with quarterly growth figures for the non-oil economy being 4.3% in Q1, 6.6% in Q2, and 7.7% in Q3.