Majority Leader of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has called on African leaders to urgently dismantle travel and trade barriers across the continent, adv
Majority Leader of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has called on African leaders to urgently dismantle travel and trade barriers across the continent, advocating a visa-free Africa as a key driver of economic growth and integration.
Speaking at the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogue, held under the theme “Empowering SMEs, Women and Youth in Africa’s Single Market: Innovate, Collaborate, Trade,” Mr. Ayariga said the free movement of people, goods, and services is essential for unlocking Africa’s full economic potential.
“We want a visa-free Africa,” he declared, noting that practical examples already exist within the sub-region.
“I have seen how a visa-free West Africa has been enormously supportive,” he added.
The Majority Leader also urged African governments to improve air connectivity by embracing open skies policies, describing aviation as a critical enabler of intra-African trade and mobility.
“We want open African skies,” Mr. Ayariga said, further proposing the adoption of “one African biometric passport” to simplify travel and strengthen continental identity.
He stressed the importance of modern infrastructure to support cross-border trade, particularly for young people and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“Let’s build infrastructure that will enable our youth to trade digitally across borders and allow mobile money to operate seamlessly across countries,” he said.
Mr. Ayariga also highlighted growing demands from young Africans for mutual recognition of academic qualifications, describing it as vital for labour mobility and skills development.
“Our youth want their degrees recognised across Africa,” he stated.
Reflecting on regional integration efforts, Mr. Ayariga said Africa has already made notable progress, especially within West Africa.
“A lot of progress has been made, particularly in West Africa,” he said, drawing on his nearly ten years of experience in the ECOWAS Parliament.
“Many of the demands being raised here are issues we worked on diligently, and in West Africa we already enjoy many of those benefits.”
He noted that similar arrangements exist across other regions of the continent, including North, East, Southern and Central Africa, as well as within Francophone, Lusophone, Arab and Anglophone blocs.
According to him, the challenge now is to harmonise these regional advances into a unified continental framework.
“What is needed now is for the various blocs to integrate the facilities they have granted to their citizens and allow all Africans to enjoy them,” he said.
Expressing optimism about the vision of a borderless Africa, Mr. Ayariga assured participants that Ghana’s Parliament is ready to back the process.
“Our Parliament stands ready to walk the talk. We are prepared to pass all the agreements required to grant visa-free status to every African,” he added.
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