Why a Pan-African Passport May Not Work... Yet

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The African Union (AU) has launched a pan-African passport. The idea behind the initiative is that the free movement of people will help create jobs and stimulate economic activity. This, in turn, would increase intra-African trade, boosting economic growth. The organisation’s intention is that by 2018 the passport will be distributed to all African citizens.
The AU envisages the issuing of a biometric passport, or electronic passport, which would use contactless smart-card technology. It was chosen instead of a traditional passport because there is a smaller chance of fraud.
The concept has been strongly backed by a number countries, such as the Seychelles, Mauritius, Senegal and Rwanda. All have eased or lifted visa requirements for people travelling from other African countries.
But a number of insurmountable obstacles stand between the vision of a pan-African passport and it becoming a reality. I believe they are too big to overcome, particularly in the short time-frame the AU has given itself.

The big obstacles

The first is that many African countries lack the basic measures to roll out the initiative. For instance, they do not have access to the biometric systems needed to register the passports. Currently only 13 of the 54 AU members offer biometric passports. Algeria, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana and Tunisia, for example, do not have them.

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