Exit Visas and Tariffs: The Hard Medicine Africa Needs

Dear critical reader, if all African nations required mandatory exit visas before their citizens could travel to a sister state, the tragedy unfolding in South Africa today might never have occurred. That is the uncomfortable question confronting us in 2026 at the cusp of the AI revolution, as xenophobic attacks once again displace thousands. In May 2026 alone, more than 600 additional Ghanaians registered for evacuation from South Africa after alleged xenophobic assaults. Small‑scale traders, hairdressers and mechanics say they are exhausted by the cycle of violence. Vigilante groups such as “March and March” staged demonstrations in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Durban between April and May 2026 — protests that turned violent, and in some cases, deadly. When Africans cannot move safely across their own continent, the promise of African unity becomes an illusion.

Mandatory exit visas would allow security agencies across the continent to share data in real time. Yet the irony is striking: even as South Africa battles xenophobia, Ghana in May 2026 became the fifth African country to grant visa‑free entry to all African passport holders. Kenya removed visa requirements for nearly all African states by early 2025, retaining only Libya and Somalia for security reasons. Meanwhile, the AU’s Protocol on Free Movement of Persons — adopted in 2018 to guarantee the right to live and work anywhere in the bloc — remains largely dormant. As of July 2025, only four countries had ratified it, far short of the 15 needed for it to take effect. Without mandatory data‑sharing and registration, free movement risks becoming a free‑for‑all.

It should also be compulsory for Africans moving under AfCFTA’s free‑movement provisions to report to police or immigration within one week of arrival if they intend to stay for an extended period. AfCFTA, now ratified by 48 countries, is expanding rapidly; Nigeria gazetted its Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions in 2025 to enable preferential access. But as the UN Economic Commission for Africa cautions, “we cannot have a true African Continental Free Trade Area if people cannot move with their goods”. A simple one‑week registration requirement would give security agencies the real‑time intelligence they need without undermining mobility. ECOWAS already provides residence and establishment rights beyond entry — we should build on that with accountability.

Africa’s unemployment crisis, especially among the youth, demands equally bold thinking. One solution is to borrow from President Trump’s “America First” tariff doctrine: impose a 200% tariff on manufactured goods that can be produced on the continent. This would accelerate import‑substitution industrialisation and protect local industries. The numbers are stark. South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose to 32.7% in Q1 2026, with youth unemployment among 15–24‑year‑olds at 60.9%. By December 2025, youth unemployment stood at 57%, one of the highest globally. Sub‑Saharan Africa’s 2025 youth unemployment average is 10.07%, but countries like Angola (43.3%) and Namibia (over 40%) reveal the depth of the crisis.

Africa cannot continue exporting cocoa and lithium as raw materials only to import chocolate and batteries at a premium. The Institute of Economic Affairs Ghana argues that this is the moment for a coordinated African response: “When we are able to produce about 90 per cent of the things we consume, we would be in a better place.” The Association of Ghana Industries has already declared import substitution “non‑negotiable” for the 24‑hour economy agenda. A 200% tariff on goods we can manufacture would force value‑addition, deepen regional value chains, and align with AfCFTA’s ambition to boost intra‑African trade by $276 billion. Southern Africa’s 2025 industrialisation committee endorsed exactly this: value addition and regional linkages. The logic is simple.

But simplicity requires courage. Can exit visas and 200% tariffs secure Africa’s future, or will the continent remain trapped in recurring crises? The data from 2025–2026 suggests we have no time left for half‑measures. Security without surveillance, mobility without accountability, and trade without production are illusions. If AfCFTA is to become more than a treaty — and African youth more than statistics — then Ghana, Kenya and Zambia must lead as accelerators. Africa is young, its youth are creators, but they must be mobile, protected and employed. That begins with borders that know who crosses them, to disrupt the business models of trafficking networks, and markets that produce what Africans consume.

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