East and West Africans are in favor of open borders, but the rest of Africa isn’t

This year’s Africa Day message from African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma affirms the organisation’s commitment to political and economic integration among member states. It cites the free movement of people, goods and services as among its flagship projects for 2016.

But a recent analysis of public attitudes towards regional integrationsuggests that “more needs to be done to convince [African citizens] of the benefits of integration”.

A majority (56%) of survey respondents support free movement across borders. But only a quarter (26%) say it is “very easy” or “easy” to do so in their regions. The findings are based on nationally representative surveys in 36 countries conducted by Afrobarometer, a non-partisan African research network.

The Real Style  ------- NP 2016