African Union launches single passport for Africans

Africa: The single African Union (AU) passport was on Sunday launched during the opening ceremony of the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. The Assembly is made up of heads of states and governments of the 54 member states of the AU.

The AU Commission’s Chairperson, Dr Dlamini Zuma, presented the passport to the Chairperson of the union, President Idriss Deby of Chad and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

Zuma, in her address, described the passport as a landmark achievement of the commission and was intended to help with regional integration of people within the continent.

“We see hope in the resilience of our people and the strides of countries towards eradicating poverty and transforming our economies.

“We see hope in the ever-changing landscapes of our cities and towns, as we steadily build roads, increase access to energy, ICT, water and sanitation and build schools, clinics and sports fields.

“We have hope, because the continent’s political and business leadership are preparing to act to make African industrialisation a reality in our lifetime, so that our people benefit from their natural and mineral resources.’’

“As AU we have made the pledge not to bequeath violent conflicts, wars and genocide to future generations of Africans.

“That pledge demands our attention,’’ she added.

Chairperson of the Commission, President Deby of Chad declaring the session open, said that the retreat of the heads of states yielded immeasurable results.
President Deby said this was because the continent had decided to take its destiny in its own hands by deciding to fully fund the activities of the union by contributing to it financially and to ensure peace and stability.