Published by the government of Zimbabwe
25 July 2007
Harare — Environment and tourism ministers from Southern Africa are meeting in Victoria Falls to discuss progress on the introduction of a universal visa.
Tourism experts view the universal visa as most critical for the region, one of whose members, South Africa, is hosting the 2010 soccer World Cup.
Hassle-free movement, they said, would immensely promote the region's tourism sector and significantly boost their economies.
In an interview on Monday, Environment and Tourism Minister Cde Francis Nhema said the dialogue signals the strong co-operation of the Sadc ministers in the area that could sustain economies, especially now when the agriculture sector is under threat from climate change.
"Immigration is high on our agenda and we are glad that the idea of a uni-visa is not new because it was mooted over a decade ago by, among other stakeholders, our very own immigration department in the mid-80s.
"We feel we need to take up that initiative and further develop it for implementation," Cde Nhema said.
Former chief immigration officer Mr Elasto Mugwadi was instrumental in proposing the uni-visa whose implementation was subsequently hampered by lack of understanding on its benefits and operational modalities.
Europe has devised its own type of uni-visa -- the Schengen -- which qualifies citizens of member states to enter more than 13 European countries, among them France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
Cde Nhema said areas of concern before the implementation of the visa were to be discussed during the dialogue to ensure that all parties were satisfied with the development.
"Security is a major area of concern because with the introduction of this type of visa we will need to put in place other mechanisms that would ensure that we protect the region from undesirable elements.
"We do not want to see the uni-visa abused and taken as a vehicle to commit crimes across borders. Checks on all borders will still be stringent," Cde Nhema said.
The ministers will, however, have to come to terms with disagreements, which marred the unsuccessful implementation of the visa by the immigration departments in the region earlier.
This included the need to deny entry to persons blacklisted in any of the countries within the region.
This meant some persons regarded as undesirable elements in South Africa would automatically be barred from entering any of the countries in the region using the uni- visa.
Countries like Botswana were against the idea of barring entry to such persons in countries where they might not pose any danger.
However, differences of opinion were also prevalent in European countries, where the uni-visa was pioneered.
For instance, the city of Geneva in Switzerland insists on a Schengen visa while visitors can still travel to the other
city, Zurich, with just the Swiss visa.
Germany does not require a transit Schengen visa for anyone going to another Schengen
state while in France, visitors travelling to other Schengen states need a transit Schengen visa.
Cde Nhema said complexities were expected and the ministers needed to agree on such requirements as transit visas and how the visas would be issued.
Other issues expected to crop up during the dialogue include combined marketing of the region.
South Africa has the most vibrant media in the region and is seen as an effective tool in the marketing of tourists' destinations in Southern Africa.
Television channels, which include Tourism and Trade in South Africa, were currently aggressively marketing music, tourism, sport and cultures in Southern Africa.
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