Published by the government of Zimbabwe
31 July 2007
opinion
Harare — THERE is big potential in scrapping visas within the Sadc economic and political bloc, and current talks for a universal visa system must be reinforced with concrete action.
Sadc is edging towards creating an integrated economic community using the Free Trade Area as the entry point.
The elimination of visa requirements among member states (or usage of a common Sadc visa) would be key to allowing the free movement of people and promote trade and investment growth.
The phasing out of tough visa requirements will also grow tourism and promote cross-border trade, a key factor that has helped families survive and economies grow in the region.
It is also expected that the univisa concept, which enables tourists from source markets to obtain visas for one Sadc country, on the basis of which they can be allowed automatic entry into other Sadc countries would be in place by the RSA 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.
This is expected to introduce equity in the tourism sector and ensure that tourists get value for money by visiting several countries on a single visa.
Existing systems where Sadc peoples are subject to rigorous visa requirements have stalled regional economic growth and infringe on the free movement of people and goods in Southern Africa.
At most border posts, visa requirements cause unnecessary delays and complications while some countries require huge amounts of money to process visas, discouraging tourism and travel in the process.
Economists were clear about the need to encourage economic growth and socio-economic development in the region.
"The specific objective is to facilitate entry into member states without the need for a visa for a maximum period of 90 days per year," explained an economist quoted on the Sadc website.
Last week, Sadc tourism ministers meeting in the resort town of Victoria Falls agreed on the urgent need for a common Sadc visa, more importantly to facilitate the free movement of people during the 2010 Fifa World Cup to be staged in South Africa.
While Sadc also targets to have a Customs Union by 2010, a Common Market by 2015 and a Monetary Union by 2018, economists said the economic role played by a uni-visa operation would be equally critical.
For example, Zimbabweans ranked as the biggest spenders in the South African economy in 2006, pumping in at least R2,2 billion, despite the harrowing experience one goes through at the local embassy to obtain a visa.
And yet, Zimbabwe has some of the most lax immigration laws in the region, as most people visiting the country from Sadc are exempt from visas.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Mr Callisto Jokonya noted: "It would be a giant step towards economic liberalisation for Sadc economies if the visas were allowed to pave way for a systematic process that promotes trade and investment."
Sadc should eliminate all obstacles to the free movement of capital and labour, goods and services and of people in the region generally among member states to help stronger economic growth and integration.
This is also one of the biggest challenges to getting the systems off the ground -- aligning all the visa and immigration policies across the region.
But if the region can get it right it would be a boon not just for tourism but many other sectors such as trade. Some Sadc countries have already scrapped visa requirements for citizens from other member states.
These include Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland, whose citizens no longer require visas to cross borders between the three countries. Economic integration in Sadc is guided by the Trade Protocol, signed in 1996 and came into force in 2000.
As part of its implementation, member states have been negotiating tariff reduction schedules, rules of origin, a dispute settlement mechanism, special product agreements, elimination of non-tariff barriers and harmonisation of customs, trade documentation and clearance procedures.
South Africa became a Sadc member in 1994. The 13 other members are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Seychelles and Zimbabwe.
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