The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of Parliament and MP for Nsawam/Adoagyiri constituency Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh has called on the African Union (AU) to take action against member countries which are not making effort towards the realisation of the Continent's dream.
He said "mere signing of protocols without concrete steps to implement such protocols will not help the continent." He therefore urged the AU to reprimand leaders on the continent who are not performing well.
Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh made the comments at a meeting of ECOWAS member states and Secretariates and the East Africa Commission (EAC) in Dakar Senegal on the popularisation of the free movement protocol.
He said "the free movement of persons and less visa restriction agreed upon by AU with 2018 as the deadline cannot be met".
"However countries like Mauritania, Ghana and Senegal among others have demonstrated goodwill by passing laws that allow 90-day stay in their countries for people without visas," he stated.
Hon Frank Annoh- Dompreh also noted that flight cost within the West Africa subregion is often more expensive than travelling outside the continent and described the situation as totally unacceptable. He therefore emphasised the need for immediate steps to be taken to address the high flight cost within the continent.
"The world will not wait for us. We must give meaning to the visions of our forefathers and thankfully we have hind sight benefits and there is no need to reinvent the wheel," Hon Annoh- Dompreh stated.
Representatives of ECOWAS and EAC supported Hon Frank Annoh - Dompreh's call for the AU to zero in on countries which are not respecting the principles of reciprocity. They further urged African Parliaments to quickly ratify the protocol before the end of the year .
Source: Emmanuel Akorl/Parliamentary Correspondent, Peace FM
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At this moment , this is the only sensible MP in parliament . He is really thinking beyond the shallow minds of his colleagues . Africa is not working . The AU itself is as uselessss as the countries forming it . I don't see the AU performing better . Look at the Presidents and those leading the AU and tell me what have they been able to do to alleviate corruption in their own countries ? How would they even understand the concept of a global issue such as food production , healthcare and security . Its a shame that Africa is still importing rice worth over 7 billion usd and so on if the data presented are correct . We must find a way to control member states who fail to achieve value for money for the ordinary citizens and each AU member must start this from their home countries while they are monitored by other member states . Better still there must be a universal sanctions