CEMAC Zone: Circulation Is Free

The confirmation was given yesterday 31 October, 2017 in N’Djamena by Heads of State of the sub-region.

“I want to be sure that all sons and daughters of the CEMAC who are in this hall came to N’Djamena without a visa.” The statement from the Chadian Head of State, Idriss Deby Itno, current President of the Economic and Monetary Community of the Central African States, CEMAC, at the opening of an Extraordinary Summit of the zone aimed at fine-tuning reforms was welcomed by general approval applause from the audience.

The summit followed a series of measures by all countries of the sub-region to eliminate all visa requirements for a three-month period from citizens of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon who hold an ordinary, service or diplomatic passport. Since the creation of the UDEAC in Fort-Lamine, Chad in 1964 to its transformation into CEMAC in 1994, the objective of free movement of persons and goods has appeared so hard to attain.

Thus, yesterday’s gathering in N’Djamena was a breakthrough for the leaders. Present for the Summit were Presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Idriss Deby Itno of Chad and Faustin Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic. Gabon and Congo Brazzaville were represented by their various Heads of Government.

Presenting a balance sheet of his stewardship during the 2012-2017 tenure as President of the CEMAC Commission, Pierre Moussa painted a positive picture of progress in the sub-region in spite of persistent crisis in the Central African Republic that created enormous human and logistic problems to staff members and their families who could not work effectively in Bangui.

The insecurity affecting some countries of the sub-region and the recent economic crisis, he insisted, have not prevented the CEMAC zone from achieving most of its goals. He cited the liberation of movement and the institution of the Community Integration Tax, TCI adding that education, health care, energy supply and the Regional Economic Programme codenamed PER were on course. He appreciated support from all the leaders of the sub-region given to him and his team within the last five years and wished well to his successor, former Prime Minister of Gabon, Daniel Ona Ondo.

In his opening speech, President Idriss Deby Itno pointed out that geographical barriers and national frontiers had long disappeared from the minds of the populations and it required only the political will to make the free circulation of people and goods eff...