Ghana Removes Visa Requirements For All African Citizens

by Le Magazine de la Diaspora Ivoirienne et des Ami(e)s de la Côte d’Ivoire | 15 mars 2016 14 h 41 min

[1]

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama on Sunday March 6 announced that the country will begin to offer visas on arrival to citizens of all 54 African Union (AU) member states starting in July.

Mr. Mahama made the declaration while delivering his State of the Nation address two weeks ago.

Ghana’s new visa policy is big news in Africa where, according to the African Development Bank, only 25% of the countries offer visas on arrival to nationals of other African nations. Put another way, it is easier for North Americans to travel within the continent than it is for Africans. Only the Seychelles is known to have an open access visa policy applicable to citizens of all AU member states. (Ghana currently offers visa free entry for citizens of 15 countries within the Economic Community of West African States.)

As part of his independence day speech, Mahama also advocated more unity across the continent by urging his countrymen to learn French, the official language of more than half of the countries in Africa. English is the official language of Ghana, but it is bordered by francophone countries like Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Togo.

Opening its doors to other African nations could be crucial for Ghana. The travel and tourism industry accounts for 5.9% of its GDP. Mahama did not say whether the new policy would include business visas, but at a time when foreign direct investment on the continent is falling, the country could benefit from opening its doors.

Source: http://www.rootsafrikiko.com/m/stories/view/Ghana-removes-visa-requirements-for-all-African-citizens

Jennifer Thompson, la prostituée De Rooney et El Hadj Diouf

Jennifer Thompson Wayne Rooney, El Hadji Diouf et Amir Khan sont au cœur d’un scandale sexuel Read more

USA: Le pasteur Terry Jones n’a pas brûlé le Coran

L’Amérique a-t-elle vraiment tremblé à la veille du 9e anniversaire du 11 septembre 2001 ? Read more

[2]

Fidel Castro se demande si Nicolas Sarkozy a bien toute sa tête

Nicolas Sarkozy est-il devenu fou ? C'est la question que se pose l'ancien président Read more

Kenya: Deux employés d’une morgue arrêtés pour avoir vendu des testicules

NAIROBI - Deux employés d'une morgue kenyane ont été arrêtés à Nairobi au moment où Read more

Le Magazine de la Diaspora Ivoirienne et des Ami(e)s de la Côte d’Ivoire

Rédaction de Diaspora Cote d'Ivoire, Senior Editor: Daniel Atteby, Art Director: Sara A. Email: info@ivoirediaspo.net, Skype: gethsemane7

See Full Bio

Source URL: https://www.ivoirediaspo.net/ghana-removes-visa-requirements-african-citizens/14718.html/