Political Analyst and Director of Research at ASRI, Angelo Fick says the idea of better border controls is a pipe dream.
Fick was speaking on the sidelines of the 6th ANC National Policy Conference in Johannesburg.
Fick says the world has changed and that national thinking may only serve short-term goals. He says the current conditions require people at all levels to start thinking trans-nationally.
According to The World Migration Report 2020, the current global estimate is that there were around 281 million international migrants in the world in 2020, which equates to 3.6% of the global population. Overall, the estimated number of international migrants has increased over the past five decades.
Fick says the trade agreements in the Ecowas region, which allow for better cooperation and interventions when it comes to instabilities, should serve as a guide.
“We think back to the outbreak of disease a few years ago in Sierra Leone and other such countries, it was the Ecowas’ system and crossing the borders that allowed people to trace and contain the disease because those lines from Berlin in the 1880s have never really worked. So when people call for better border control and stronger control, these are pipe dreams. They might serve the short-term interests, but they are not realisable,” says Fick, pointing out that the number of migrants is on the increase and that “no walls are going to keep these people out.”
He has called for new, creative ways of managing resources across borders better “and think trans-nationally, rather than just nationally.”
The idea of implementing better border controls is a “pipe dream” and “not realisable”, says Angelo Fick, arguing that Africans in general need to start thinking trans-nationally. #SABCNews #ANCPolicyConference #ANCpolicy pic.twitter.com/SdZ1AJZxzt
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) July 31, 2022
The Economic Freedom Fighters have come under fire in recent times for calling for the scrapping of the border saying their sustenance amounted to the perpetuation of the colonial agenda. Among others, they have called for a single African currency, which International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor, said South Africa supported.
However, Fick insists the current conditions of Africa may not yet allow for a single African currency.
A single African currency may not be a good idea yet for Africa under the current conditions – Angelo Fick. International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor says South Africa supports the idea of a single African currency. #SABCNews #ANCPolicyConference #ANCpolicy pic.twitter.com/QAY1VlUdzh
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) July 31, 2022
Fick has also warned that it was African leaders who stood in the way of intra-African cooperation.
A mutually-beneficial intra-African trade is one of the discussion points at the ANC Policy Conference.
It is Africa’s political leaders who stand in the way of intra-African cooperation, says Angelo Fick. A mutually-beneficial intra-African trade is one of the discussion points at the #ANCPolicyConference. #SABCNews #ANCpolicy pic.twitter.com/cmnGJxWWLZ
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) July 31, 2022
